Oh gosh I really had a great time doing this chapter and I have to admit this my favorite chapter until now . I forgot to say that this fanfic is based on the manga version and the memory Roy has is from the Ishavalan annihilation. You can watch this in chapter 58 to 62 of the manga series in pages like and ! I really recommend you to read it since it clears out a lot of things about not only the war, but the character interaction and the basis of Roy's dream to become the fuhrer.

DOMO ARIGATTO GOZAIMASU to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope I don't disappoint you from here on!

Chapter 4

Everything happens for a reason

Everything seemed calm, too calm. The hands retained with force the blankets and her teeth screeched. She didn't know where she was but neither could she open her eyes to see what was happening.

'Were the hell am I?' She turned her head in all directions so someone could wake her up, the deal was that every corner of her body hurt and even that required great struggle. At least she knew she was not in heaven, it could not taste like bullshit.

Her breathing rate soared. And she tried screaming but nothing escaped her dry mouth.

'Get me out of here!'

Then, she slowly started hearing some faint voices making an eco around her and sensing the tubes. She was in a bed, was the only thing she could be sure of and it was day, or was it night? Beaming spots of light she could sense through her eyelids but nothing to be sure of. She tried to hear the voices and then she felt one hand making contact with her skin. The voice now became a lot much clear as to understand some simple words but made her uncomfortable.

''I''

''too much blood loss.''

''take…operations room''

Everything turned black now and a needle slightly made a way to her veins. At a rate of a minute, she could deduce her body felt lighter, her pain ceased and she started to feel comfortable on those strange blankets. Something told her it was going to be alright.

XXXX

"Where am I going to stay in headquarters?" The woman questioned with curiosity.

'' You won't have a personal office, so Colonel would have to stay in the office of somebody else."

"Can I have the possibility to choose?'' a sparkle could be seen in her eyes.

''You can.''

''Then take me to the flame alchemist's office.'' A mischivieous smile rose up.

'' Accompany me.''

XXXX

A new year started and with it a new season. Good for her, she could now open the windows of her room widely and observe the exquisite view of nature while absorbing herself in reading.

A flower near her porch started to bloom quietly and after getting a cup of coffee from the kitchen she would sit beside her and watch the beautiful purple spur out and bring her a sense of peace.

She was almost falling asleep when a knock was heard on the door. She opened her eyes and saw the sky was dark, filled with glowing pieces of sparkle everywhere. She sighted and stood up walking calmly to the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see that person standing in front of her.

''Sorry did I wake you up?'' he apologized while smiling. '' You seem a bit absent minded.''

''What?" I answered and then he laughed. ''the one who should say sorry is me. I was just watching at the panorama from my window and I went asleep. Did Mr. Mustang wait much?''

"Quite a while," his onyx eyes were now visible. "I was going to give up when you finally answered."

Both of them laughed and he started talking again. ''Anyways I came to say goodbye. This weekend I'll be going out of town and I won't be able to reach you until the next week.''

''Oh,'' I answered slowly, "Well then have a safe trip."

''Aren't you going out somewhere?'' he asked

''We don't go out very much. Even less when my mother died, so I think I will stay here.''

'' Won't your boyfriend take you out somewhere?" his hands got a hold of his suitcase that was on the floor.

'' I don't have one.'' What a strange question to ask. It's obvious I don't have a boyfriend.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is that so?" His eyes looked away.

"Do you have someone?" the question escaped out of my mouth and I felt embarrassed.

"Yeah. I'm taking her with me out of town.'' His eyes met mine in a mysterious look. As if he wanted to know something and the silence stood for various seconds. "I'm going now. Take care."

"o-ok" I answered before sneezing.



He turned and took something out of his suitcase to give it to me. '' Here take this.''

I looked up silently. "It's for the cold you gonna have. Bet you it will come in handy."

''Thanks." I answered and took the handkerchief from his hand to cover my mouth.

''Be careful and try not staying till to late on the porch without some proper clothes.'' He started walking and waved me goodbye.

I only stood there watching him and feeling his sent pour out of the hanker chief in my mouth.

Like instinct, the woman that lied in the bed, connected to a lot of tubes started sneezing out of the blue. A big smile curved her lips and the breathing became now a little bit more rhythmic. One of her hands reached out to her mouth but the oxygen mask blocked the way and she tried to get rid of it. She raised an eyebrow. 'I'm not in my father's house.'' and touched the gas mask to identify the object with certain curiosity.

Then, she remembered everything. The car, Lust, Emma, Roy, The flames, the alley, her pain, the dream and the hospital. Now, there she was like a half dead being connected to every apparatus this hell had. Her eyelids slowly started to open and the sound was now heard clearly. To her surprise she was neither in such terrible pain as the one she felt in the alley and neither was she connected to the tubes she had thought to be, just the common ones. Maybe a little over exaggerating but the relief came to her once more. She sighted with joy and wondered why she felt so tired.

Her hands went to her lap, examining the injury she once had and it was perfectly fine. Hawkeye could not feel her skin easily through the hospital green coat but she could follow the scar the operation had on her and that made her comfortable. The beep on the machine to control her heart rate was getting on her nerves though.

'Could someone shut that thing up?!'

She now looked to both sides of the bed to locate that button that called a nurse but it was so dark she couldn't even see her hands. Her fingers went to the wall behind her and while turning the lamp on she could visualize the whole room to her pleasure. Nothing to luxurious, just the normal things you have in a hospital room. One comfy wine colored sofa on the left corner of the bed, with some blankets and a big window with a yellowish curtain, probably old by the long years of use. On the right side a door that connected to the bathroom and a table with some food.

She now organized her hair; all made a mess and was surprised by a knock on the door. Her eyes wide open, thought of the possibility of the same man in her dreams coming in to talk with her, but was she even too enthusiastic or the medicine had made bad secondary effects that something like that could occur.

'' Yes?" Riza replied.

"It's us, Armstrong, Alphonse and Edward," a sweet voice talks. "Can we come in?''



"Honestly," she murmured. What a fool she was, '' Of course you can.''

The three men went in silently and the 6 eyes looked at her with concern, ''How are you doing'' asked Alphonse while approaching the woman.

"Well it pained terribly when I got here but I guess the painkillers they gave me got me controlled."

"You seem tired," started Edward, "As if you had fought a hell of a fight." His eyes looked directly at her.

"You deceived us didn't you?" affirmed Armstrong, "You made us believe you were going directly to the hospital and came back to fight."

"I-I…I'm very sorry" her head looked down, " I couldn't leave a fight like that, I'm very sorry"

"Stop excusing yourself lieutenant, we know. But next time take a better care of yourself." Responded Edward.

"wait" Riza suddenly realized something, " What happened to-"

"To Lust?" Edward went to sit at the sofa, "Mustang took care of her for a while before Envy and Gluttony decided to retreat. Those sons of bitches wanted to use that alchemist in something and maintained us entertained. When Lust saw that you were coming in the picture she was going to get rid of you and take the Alchemist as hostage, but fortunately Mustang told us you escaped with her to the hospital."

"You mean Emma?" the lieutenant clarified.

"Yes her."

"By the way, in what room is she located?"

"hmm," Alphonse said, " She is already working again, Riza. It seems you've been unconscious for four days now."

"Four days!!" she was shocked. "What the hell!...wait work!"

"There, there first lieutenant," Armstrong got closer and caressed her hand. "Just rest for now ok?"

"Rest Major?" Riza sighted, "I left work undone and the papers…oh gosh."

The three men broke in laugher. "It's all been taken care of."

"Everything?" She swallowed now a bit nervous. "Who has done that? For as I know all the crew hates paper work."

"I don't know," laughed Edward, "I didn't interrogate them enough for that and we've been busy looking to the homunculi whereabouts."

"The mystery here is why did they want her as hostage?"Talked Alphonse trying to distract the woman from office related topics. "What more do they plan to do in order to take Amestris now?"

"If the Fuhrer got his hands in this then we cannot expect something too beneficial for us." Edward started to mock.

"If you're right, fighting will take place soon," Riza stated, "And we'll be prepared for that moment." She cleared her throat, "Anyways, what time is it?"

Armstrong turned his right arm in his direction to look closer at the clock, "11:30 pm."

Riza nodded at Armstrong in thanks and took a bottle of water from the table besides her. After cleaning her throat she sat up and picked some slippers to walk on. The three guys immediately stood up, afraid of her falling or loosing balance but she only walked pausing sometimes to rest her left leg and reach the sofa. She examined them to see if they were alright and free of any grave injury. All of them seemed to have minor scratches but Edward's auto mail was fine and Alphonse's armour was perfectly treated. Riza was in relief, at least she was the only one who had gotten great injuries while fighting, and she couldn't help but smile at the guys sitting on the sofa. She really did care for them.

"Isn't it better for you to be in bed? We can talk to you anytime" grumbled Armstrong with a caring tone of voice.

"You guys don't take me for a disabled person!" she sneered. "Now that I woke up, I'll go to talk to the nurse and she will discharge me in a few minutes, just wait here."

Edward, Alphonse and Armstrong stare at her insinuating it was all the opposite of what she thought, "The doctors say you'll have to stay at least 2 or more nights here until you get discharged."

"oh." Was the only thing she could say. She was missing two days or more of work and she couldn't make anything in this god damned hospital without that beeping machine getting the best of her? "Please tell me you're joking."

"No we aren't," replied Armstrong, "You cannot enter duty with your wounds still healing. You want them to open and come back for another week after that?"

He was right. She giggled, "I get it," Riza turned to walk towards the door; "you stay put and rest here with me tonight. It's late and the hotels are a far away from here."

"But" say the three at the same time, "there are no second options, feel free to eat some of the food there on that table and if you want to use the toilet, no problem."

''Riza.''

''I said no."

XXXX

"Oh! Ms. Hawkeye you have awakened from your 4 day sleep," stated the nurse in the hall when she saw the lady walk. "And you're even on your feet!" she was in surprise to see the lady standing firmly with the length of the injury she had.

"Thank you very much for taking care of me these past few days," She excuses herself by holding the handle gently and closing the door. Then leans on it and squeezes the metallic support that held the serum. 'When did the only fact of walking became so hard? Dammit!' "I must have been a burden."

"A burden you say?" the nurse smirked, "not at all. You were a very calm person, very different from those kinds of patients that are hitting you constantly because of their stubbornness." The 

nurse now comes to her and grabs her arm to help her walk. "I see you have a hard time standing up."

"Yes a little," Riza accepts the idea of staying in the hospital until she felt better though she hated the whole idea of 'staying in bed' thing. "May I ask a question?"

"Yes?" the black haired girl says.

"Can 3 people stay in my bedroom tonight?"

"The ones who came after visitor hours?" she reminded.

"Yes, them" the lieutenant affirmed shyly.

"They had to give me money to let them in your room at such hour, so I just guessed you were going to come out soon."

Riza was shocked. These guys blackmailed the woman? What else! "Well yeah," she started nervously, "And since it's so late can you consider the idea of letting them-"

The nurse interrupted, "No can do," she responded with a big smile, "I think I'll have to charge them an extra fee if they want to stay tonight" Her eyes glowed with greed. She was making a business out of this!

"No," Riza said stopping the nurses daydreaming, "I'll pay for it when I go out."

"Very well Ms. Hawkeye you can let them stay but no snoring, drinking, shouting, laughing or dancing. Do you imagine what could happen if they were discovered by the doctor?" her eyes looked up to the ceiling, "Hell no, I don't want that."

"I get it." Her eyes closed for a moment and she let go of the hand the nurse had on her arm to go to her room once more. "Good night."

"Good night."

Watching the woman turning and opening the door with the same delicacy her movements were made, she was reminded of the guy who came the last two nights to visit her for some minutes. That girl had given her a lot of income in visits. "That Fellow," escaped her mouth.

"What fellow?" answered Riza immediately without turning her head from the door.

"It's nothing, Ms. Hawkeye, I like to speak alone."

XXXX

These days had been chaos. A total and complete chaos. Exhausted by the whole lot of work he had been ordered to do in the past few days, he wasn't able to drink a cup of whisky alone. Everybody had gone home and the only one left in the office was him in the company of a dog who was now entertained taking his night sleep in the lieutenant's place.

Observing carefully at the moon, he got up to take his jacket off and unbutton his shirt. With this he led his body slip freely through the chair until he felt comfortable and took with one of the hands the bottle of whisky. He led the liquid flow to the cup with certain elegance and then 

played with it a while in the glass near his nose, so he could sense the aroma that flowed from it. Afterwards, he quietly introduced some of the whisky to his throat, feeling him drench with relief.

Instantly as if the alcohol required the same essence of his life, yellow for the ages that had gone through him. Liquid as his nonchalant attitude at times, dense as the fragile net of circumstances that led him to despair and bitter as his life was, he drank desperately. Could he run?

His hands covered his face now full of shame.

"I believed that… I believed that alchemy would give people dreams and hopes, and that the military would protect this country's future."

Could this bottle make him forget the lagoon he was suffocating in?

"Please tell me Major. Why are soldiers who ought to protect their citizens, killing them instead?" Her eyes pleaded for an answer to the hell they were living. So fragile, so human.

The fog that covered his body could be dispelled?

"What's your field of expertise?"

"Guns. A Gun is good. Unlike a sword or a knife, it doesn't leave the feeling of a person dying on your hands."

His life was eternally missing pieces and incomplete, was there a way to ever fulfill it?

"I have a favor to ask to you, Mr. Mustang. Please burn and crush my back."

How could she do that? How could she live so strongly, looking always ahead, so complete and so perfect? How could she manage to stay with an asshole like him? How could she…how could she make him go mad?

He dashed into the room as if someone was looking on him permanently and felt at ease as soon as he could close the door. The dark fell upon him. His eyes closed for a split moment, remembering the events that had led him to this place. He had surely tried to suppress the taste of anxiousness she had left behind, that afternoon. His head could now grasp the consequence this could also bring but it was going to be the last time.

The heart pondered inside. Half excited by the fact of being with her now and the other part by the fact of leaving her forever.

He stood up, now decided to end it in a short time but he could only advance through short paces at the bed that was illuminated by the light of the moon.



Certainly, his eyes could only observe the fragile figure he saw once in the hospital after the 'incident' of the flames in her back. Her heart beat normally, her peaceful breathing filled all of the noise the room could have and her blonde hair was the only color that stood out from the pale room.

A melancholic face he now wore. His hands tried to reach hers but retreated.

"If I step off the path, shoot and kill me with those hands. You are qualified to do that."

He leaned to her face to watch her closely.

'A woman so with so normal appearance, she is she because it's her role. Original, unchangeable.'

He could once more smell the gentle perfume her hair emanated.

'A familiar scent, so sweet, so nice.'

"That dream. Can I entrust my back to it?"

He gave his back to her, walking slowly to the door and leaning on it for a few minutes, his eyes glued to the ceiling and sighted. Could this be enough to cure?

"I don't believe this" he laughed sarcastically.

"Roy..." her voice murmured his name. His eyes were widely open now watching her closely, nervously. "Leave it…leave me."

"Will you follow me?"

"Understood."

"Let me be…I'm not good, he is neither. I'll do my life"

'He is neither?' the man raised an eyebrow but payed attention to her last words. "No more."

So she did feel uncomfortable on his presence. He was pushing so hard these past few days that she got tired of him and even though she was dreaming, she could now tell that she was saying the things with her heart.

' I needed to let go, go of foolish dreams, go…go out of her way.'

His hands in his pockets, his head down, he looked at her eyes for the last time and left the room quietly as he had entered. "Let it be."

A soft knock on the door, shook him out of his deep sleep and turning the chair to the way the door was, he looked at the blonde woman who came to him now. Was he still dreaming? Or was it Hawkeye walking now to his desk.

"Excuse me," the woman said with a tempting voice, "Are you Lieutenant Colonel Mustang?"



"Yes I am." No it was not her, their voices were slightly different. Starting by the smooth way she pronunciated his name.

"It's great meeting you, I'm Colonel Emma Thompson" the woman offered her wounded hand and he stood up to take it. "Thank you for saving me from that strange woman in Dead End Street." He could now detail her beautiful blue eyes.

"Don't worry," he replied astonished by this woman's appearance, "Why are you here so late at night?"

"I just got out of the hospital and was actually looking for you in all of the offices," she now looked directly to his eyes, "And now that I found you I wanted to ask if there was a possibility for me to aide you here in the office in the time I'm staying here in Central."

"Here?" he shook his head in disbelief, "It's going to be cramped since I have 5 more henchmen working for me and I wouldn't like to put you in one corner."

"Don't worry!" she responded happily, "I don't need all the space your talking about and it would be great making some friends along the way."

"Well I don't know what to say," his hand passed through his black hair.

"Just say yes or no. I won't take revenge or something like that." She smiled warmly.

"If you want then you can stay here, there's no problem for me."

"Thank you very much Colonel, a pleasure meeting you." The woman again offered her hand and he took it. "No, the pleasure is mine."

The woman giggled and then walked to the door. "Good night colonel and see you tomorrow. I hope I can get to know you more, you seem like an interesting person."

"Good night." Was the only thing he could say and started to analyze the rest of what she had said to him. He was not the interesting person; on the contrary, it was her.

XXXX

"Hey Charles," talked Emma a little bit excited after closing Colonel Mustang's office doors. "Don't you think everything happens for a reason?"

The tall man offered Emma her military jacket and looked with his green eyes directly to her mouth. "Sometimes."

She laughed, grabbed her coat and started walking through the corridor. "So mysterious as ever, lieutenant." She patted him on the shoulder.

And the lovely Charles appeared along with Emma at hand! Hahaha I have to admit Emma is quite impressive on everything and mostly on looks…I can imagine a very good body coming from her. Let's see what this girl wants with Colonel Roy Mustang.

Right now I think I'm on hiatus. Well I now how to open the next chapter but I'm not too clear on my ideas. I hope I don't take too long you guys! Thanks for reading and please review!