Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long, I finally managed to tie turtlequeen2 down long enough to get this chapter written. Hope everyone enjoys it, and happy birthday turtlequeen2!

The next morning, Ed found himself in a hospital bed with Al and Rosette watching him. Ronald was calling Mustang to let them know that they would be a little late. Rosette didn't seem inclined to talk, and it was very clear that she was doing her best to hide the pain from everyone. Seeing Ed stir, the redhead smiled slightly and closed the book she had been reading.

Edward blinked his eyes open slowly, annoyed by the bright lights above him. "W-what happened...? Where am I?" he whispered before groaning from the pain he felt in his abdomen.

Alphonse rotated himself quickly, extremely happy to see his brother awake. "Ed! You're up!" he chirped, rising from his seat.

"You are in the town hospital. I brought you here last night after the fight." Rosette said simply.

The boy shot up before groaning again. "Dammit..." he murmured, knowing that this was not the first time he nearly died because of a humonculus. "I guess that she got away?"

"Brother, don't move. You're gonna reopen your wounds!" Al chided. Calming a bit, his younger brother added, "Yes, Lust managed to escape. She said that she wasn't interested in killing you at the moment."

Rosette stayed silent, listening to Ron talk with Roy on the nearby phone. She briefly wondered if she should leave, having been the cause of all of this.

Edward cast a look at Rosette and knew that something was wrong. He thought back to the events that took place the day before and knew how much they must have harmed her. "Rose..." he murmured, staring at her. "Are you okay?" He did not like her silence.

For a moment, Rosette let the mask drop, letting Edward see depth of the soul wound she'd been hiding since that night. "I'll live Ed, you were the one who got creamed." She said aloud when she resumed her calm expression.

The young man saw the pain etched on her face before she hid it behind a calm mask. He nodded, understanding her mental state of mind. He forced a smirk. "Don't worry much about me. As Al says, I'm reckless. It's not the first time I got in this state," he said, joking and trying to make her feel a little better.

Alphonse caught on and wanted to roll his eyes if he had any to use. "At least you admit to it," he muttered.

"Still if I hadn't…" Rosette sighed sadly. "Just another example that I should just stop hoping… one step forward, ten steps backwards…" She shook her head, drifting back into her own thoughts.

Edward let out a breath. "Rose, there's nothing wrong with hoping for things that seem impossible." Casting a look at his brother, he knew that the two of them knew that feeling all too well. "You just have to be careful about who you talk to. A lot of people can't be trusted in this day and age."

"And who would I talk to?" She pointed out, noticing the look. "It upsets Roy, and everyone else tells me to quit whining and move on."

Alphonse did not like where this conversation was heading towards. If his face could show solemnness, he would have been displaying it at them both. 'Ed, I don't think we should tell her about that until she's feeling better,' he said, sending the thought to his older brother.

The Fullmetal Alchemist inwardly scoffed. 'Of course, I wasn't gonna tell her now! I'm not that insensitive!' Edward mentally fumed. Instead, Ed raised his eyebrow. "Since when have you complained? We haven't heard you complain about your life since we met you."

Rose shrugged. "Let's just say I'm something of a disgrace in my town. The people there think that Roy let his compassion get the better of him."

Edward was tempted to smart off about the Colonel but refrained from doing it aloud. 'Compassion? I really can't see her point of view. Compassionate people don't blackmail!' he ranted within his mind. Keeping up his mask, he only looked annoyed. "If people there don't appreciate you for your true self, they aren't worth your time."

Alphonse wanted to roll his eyes. 'Ed, calm down. Colonel Mustang is not all that bad and you know it.' Glancing down at Rosette's frail body, he asked, "So, are you feeling better physically?"

"You mean since the accident, or since last night?" The redhead asked, looking confused.

"Since last night," the armored boy replied. "You've been looking deep in thought all day."

"I'll live; I'm mostly just kicking myself for my stupidity." Rosette assured him.

Edward shrugged before regretting it. Even small movements hurt. "It just shows that you're human. Everyone falls for temptation sometime or another," he said after wincing.

Edward attempted to lift his automail arm only to discover that the "joints" had been loosened by the fight. The limb was also chipped in a few places. He resisted the urge to groan. 'A certain someone is going to kill me when she finds out...' he mentally panicked to his brother.

Alphonse sighed. "I'll call her tomorrow, Ed. You need just to worry about recovering. We both know that you don't need that added stress...," he murmured, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

Before anything else could be said, Ronald entered the room with an obvious forced look of relief. "Oh, Edward, I see that you're awake now," he admonished. Turning to the suit of armor, he added, "You have to call Central. The Colonel wishes to speak with you and your brother." He pointed to the phone that was beside Ed's bed.

Edward scowled when he saw the man enter his room. "Thanks for caring," he drawled out in sarcasm. Rolling his eyes, he replied, "So much for no added stress, Al."

His brother shook his head and dialed the number to Colonel Mustang's office. When he heard the receiver pick up, he began to speak.

Rose smiled slightly, already knowing that Roy was in a flaming mood. "Bad?" She asked Ronald.

"Your brother's mood? Yes," Ronald said, cringing. He saw her smile slightly and returned the expression. "I see that you're feeling better."

"Thanks. I'll talk to Roy after Ed's done." She replied

It was obvious that he had no clue what kind of state she really was in. "He is very worried about you. As I was last night," he commented.

"I know, I'll calm him down."

Edward ignored Alphonse's conversation with the Flame Alchemist, knowing that he'd experience the same hell or worse. Turning his sights on the self-proclaimed "happy" couple, he saw Ronald bothering Rosette. He could tell that she was trying to get away from him. "Hey, Ron. What did you tell him?"

The man faced the injured boy and raised his eyebrow. He shot an apologetic look towards his love, not really wanting to discontinue their conversation, but at the same time, knowing that he could not be rude to company. "Exactly what happened last night. You and your brother saved Rosette's life," he responded.

Of course, what Ron did not tell Roy was how revealing her scars in public was one of the main causes for her being upset at the current moment. He did not know that it hurt her so much, nor wanted to loose Mustang's trust in case it did harm her in any way.

Rosette ignored the boys waiting for her turn on the phone, from the look on her face, she was already preparing herself for her older brother's rage.

Alphonse finished the phone conversation and wanted to appear scared in the face. That was all that experience was. Horror. "B-brother, the phone's for you," he muttered weakly, hanging his brother the phone.

Edward inwardly cringed but took the phone nevertheless, steeling himself for the yelling he'd have to possibly put up with. "Yeah, Colonel?" he said, trying his hardest not to wince. He was even nice enough to say his title instead of his usual "disrespectful" address.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Roy's voice was too calm, and Edward could almost see that the colonel had his fingers near the phone, ready to try to flame him over the phone.

'I'm so dead...' was the boy's only thought. Sucking in a breath, he put up his brave front. "Yes, for the most part," Ed replied. "She's a little shaken up with maybe a few ...cuts, but she's not seriously injured."

"Cuts! What do you mean by cuts?" Roy roared into the phone. "Damnit, I knew I should have gone myself...!"

The boy held the phone away from his ear as soon as he heard the man yell. He was deafening. Once his superior was finished ranting, he spoke. "Hey, at least she's alive! Me and Al made sure that she didn't break any limbs. No one expected to bump into a homunculus there!" Ed argued back, sounding like his usual self. He instantly regretted saying his first sentence when silence was heard on the other side of the line. The pure fact that she could have died made it even worse.

"Homunculus! What in the HELL was she doing near a Homunculus?! I suppose you completely forgot my order not to allow her near that so-called healer didn't you?" There was death in his voice. The colonel eyebrow was twitching madly now, and even Hawkeye was edging towards the door.

"What did you want me to do? Chain her chair into the ground!?" Ed demanded, feeling his temper rise like usual. "She went out to 'clear her mind.' We didn't think the healer would show himself like that. Besides that, Ronald obviously didn't tell you some things..."

Ronald heard Edward and shot a glare at him. That was a detail he didn't want the man to discover. Now, it was clear that it was not his brightest idea.

Alphonse placed his hand over his iron mask, cringing. "Ed, calm down..." he whispered. "Yelling at Colonel Mustang isn't going to do anything."

"It's a thought." Roy growled, and then he paused. "What things?"

Ed looked over at the man in question and saw that he was being glared at. He did assume right. "Well, dumbass over there exposed her scars in public. Obviously, he wished for his wife-to-be to be 'perfect' looking for their wedding. That was what made Rose the 'perfect' target for the healer. Another thing, you won't have to worry about the healer any more. He was killed by the homunculus. We didn't even find out that it was another operation made by them until she came out of hiding," he explained.

"He did WHAT?!" Roy snarled, causing Rosette to almost fly out of her chair in fright.

"Yeah, so maybe you should redirect your rage towards someone else," the young man responded, after bringing back the phone to his ear once again. He was inwardly shaken, but kept his serious expression on. He also noted how Roy said nothing else regarding the homunculus. It was obvious that he placed his sister over everyone else in his mind. "It's his actions that caused this entire situation to blow out of proportion."

Roy cursed for a few minutes. "I see. How bad are your injuries?"

Edward felt his anger deflate a bit once he knew that Mustang's tone was calmer. "I don't know how bad they are. I just know that this is yet another time that I've been stabbed through the gut and lived. You can rest assured that I'm the one who is the most physically harmed," the alchemist replied with sarcasm in his voice, wondering if Roy did, in fact, take joy from hearing that.

"I see you followed that part of your orders, how long will you be in healing?" Roy asked.

Edward felt his eye twitch. He was right. Mustang did enjoy that news. He wanted to call him a bastard but knew that he'd suffer more of his wrath. Looking over at Alphonse, he asked him and received the answer. "According to Al, I'll be in here for about a week or longer. If you're so set on seeing Rose, you either should send someone else to get her or come here yourself." For some reason, Ed had a feeling that Roy would pick the second option and give everyone hell in person.

"I'll do just that Edward. Put her on. Now."

Shooting a glimpse at Rosette, he knew that she was in for the same type of treatment. "Okay then," he murmured, handing the woman the phone.

Rosette swallowed hard and took the phone. "Hi Roy. I'm just fine, not so much as a scratch."

Feeling as irritated as he was, the man skipped the greeting. "What were you thinking?!" he demanded. "Going out alone?"

"I just needed to think without everyone breathing down my neck, I only intended to be out for a few minutes." She replied.

"A few minutes?" he echoed while trying his force his voice to not sound booming. Unfortunately, it made his voice sound that much more feral. "And you didn't, for one minute, think about the possibility of the danger you placed yourself in after that earlier fiasco?!"

Rosette flinched. "Ed scared him pretty good, Al and Ron had to hold him back. The guy ran so fast I thought he'd skipped town altogether!" She smiled slightly, though hurt flashed though her eyes. "Of course I freaked him out too; he nearly knocked himself out..."

Roy let out a heavy sigh. "Rose, you need to think more. If Fullmetal or his brother hadn't been there, you could have..." He didn't finish the sentence. He knew what could have happened and he didn't want to think about it. By this time, his voice had calmed even though he was still pissed.

"I know... I know... Still, I made sure Ed was okay and made sure he was well cared for." Rosette said calmly. "I'm taking care of things as best I can."

"I'm just glad that you're okay. Don't think that the others are let off the hook as easily, though," he said his voice in a near growl by the end of the statement. He gave a small, possibly evil, smirk and rubbed his forefinger and thumb together, causing a spark. "And tell your fiancée that he's in for the time of his life when I show up..."

The redhead gulped hard, knowing her older brother could hear it. "Say what? I thought that the Führer wouldn't let you..."

"You let me deal with that," he murmured in an abnormally smooth voice. "You know the deal. Anyone who harms you deals with me."

She went as pale as milk. "The healer's dead Roy. And I don't think you could kill that lady... she made my skin crawl."

The colonel's eyebrow shot up. "What lady?" he questioned.

"The one that killed the healer with her fingernail... it looked wrong..." She paused. "It grew into a harpoon thingy and she impaled the guy with it."

"That must have been the homunculus..." he mused in thought. "Did she tell you any information regarding the healer and are you sure that you're okay?"

"She said that he was just another tool that they were using, she called him a weakling fool... and..." Rosette had to take a deep breath to steady her voice. "The lady also commented on my scars and said that they made a pleasant pattern... and she knew where I got them... at the place."

Mustang's eye twitched at that last bit of information. The second question had a clear answer. "Dammit... How did they find out... How did they know?" The questions were more directed towards himself.

"I don't know, but I almost peed in my chair." She admitted.

He shook his head in disbelief. How did such a small investigation turn into such a mess? This was what he got for sending Fullmetal out. Something always went wrong when he was on a mission. "I'll be over there in a day or two. Do you think you can hold out until then?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I'll be okay, I'm staying here at the hospital with everyone. I really don't want to be traveling alone anymore, that snake lady scared the pee outta me." The redhead didn't mention the nightmares.

"Alright then," Roy responded. "Before I go, I'd like to know how Ronald treats you in front of the brothers." Ron's name was acidic on his tongue. It was clear that he thought lowly of him.

"He's been so sweet you'd need honey jars the size of oil drums, hasn't left my side since last night." Her tone was carefully neutral, letting her brother read between the lines.

"Ah, annoying as usual..." he commented, smirking. "You have the patience of a saint."

"I'll just be glad to see you; he's really looking forward to meeting you again." She replied, smiling brightly. "You'll give him a nice warm welcome won't you brother?"

"Oh, you know me all too well," he replied, a near smile crossing his lips at the thought.

"I miss you, and please don't break you neck getting here." She said simply.

"I'll try not to," Mustang said in return. "I'll see you when I get there." He prepared to hang up the phone.

"Love you, bye." She hung up. "He's coming himself, two days." Rosette told the others.

Roy hung up the line and rose up from his seat. "Second Lieutenant Hawkeye. You may follow me if you wish. I am asking Führer Bradley if I can have a few days of leave," he explained in an authoritative tone.

Hawkeye looked startled, but rose quickly from her seat. "Is something wrong with your sister Sir?" She asked, falling into step behind Roy.

As he walked through out of his office and into the hallway, he gave a grave nod. "Some things have happened and now Fullmetal is injured. There will be a delay in her arriving her apparently."

"And you don't want to wait until Ed's healed to see her." Hawkeye finished. "Understood sir."

He smirked slightly before composing himself. It was obvious that Hawkeye knew him all too well. The two arrived in front of the large doors and he gave a quiet sigh before knocking.

"Come in." The Führer sounded calm as he put down the book that he had been reading.

The Colonel opened the doors, idly noting that there were no guards around. He entered with Hawkeye and closed the doors behind them. He gave a slight bow of respect before speaking. "Führer King Bradley, I would like to request a few days of absence."

Führer Bradley raised an eyebrow. "This is a surprise. May I ask why colonel Mustang?" He sounded concerned. Inside however, he was mentally seething over Lust's incompetence. If she had followed orders, Roy wouldn't be making this request at the moment! "Is there something wrong at home?"

Not particularly, but the Fullmetal Alchemist has delayed his return back due to injury and he was assigned to bring back someone for me to see," he said calmly, not wanting to give out excessive information if he could get away with it.

"I see. And you don't want to wait overly long?" The Fuhrer smiled. "I think we can spare you for a week or two, provided that you aren't behind on your paperwork Colonel. Is your sister still writing? You should consider bringing her here, she'll get more exposure."

Roy forced a polite smile. "As usual, Sir," he replied. "And I'll be sure to get my paperwork done." Inwardly, he hated doing work of that nature, but he knew it was a small price to pay so long as he got to see Rosette.

"By the way, how did she like that typewriter? You never told me." Now the Fuhrer sounded like a parent who had just caught his son with his hand in the cookie jar and was trying not to laugh.

Mustang managed a laugh. "She couldn't have been happier when I gave it to her."

"You know of course, that only Alchemists are allowed in the Central library. She won't be very happy when she finds out about that, though I think she'll find a way to sneak in at one point or another. Keep a close eye on her; I wouldn't want her getting into trouble." He chuckled. "If you do bring her here, I'd be happy to meet the girl who has you wrapped around her little fingers."

Once again, there was a forced smile. "I'll be sure to bring her by when she arrives," he said. "And thank you for your kindness, sir," he added, bowing slightly again. "I'll be sure to keep a close watch on her."

"Thank you. After all, we don't want a repeat of last time do we?" With a wink, he stood and escorted Mustang to the door. "Have a good trip Colonel."

"I will," he assured him, walking out of the room with Hawkeye in tow.

Thinking back to the Furher's earlier comment, he smirked. "I wonder who's worse to watch over... Rose or Fullmetal?"

"I would say your sister, considering you live with her." Hawkeye replied. "They have a nickname for her that hasn't been stomped out yet."

He let out a small chuckle. "True... I'm sure this will be fun..." Looking over at his most trusted friend, he asked, "Would you mind accompanying me?"

"Of course, someone needs to get rid of the evidence." Hawkeye said calmly, although there was a glint in her eye as she spoke.

"Of course," he hummed in agreement.