Title: Teardrops on Roses

Disclaimer: Why do I have to do this? is shown copyright Oh, that's why. Fine, I only own a few OCs and that's IT!

Couple of things beforehand:

me: Hey, Sora here. To answer you, Anorak, I…CAN'T TELL YOU! This is the last chapter, so it would be a spoiler to say anything now. But I will say that you can decide for yourself if this ending is happy, or sad.

Kitty: And don't forget!! There's a poll in our profile to see how many people want an epilogue!!! So R & R then vote!!!

A/N:

me: Oh. My. Gosh. I already have eighteen reviews and two favorites??? How and when did that happen? Last time I checked it was only seven!

Sora: Hm, people are actually interested in your fanfic? laughs

me: Shut up Sora!

Sora: I'm sorry; it's just, ha ha, too funny!

me: What …never mind. I don't want to know. Anyway, thanks so much for all the encouragement! Your reviews are my inspiration!

Sora: Because we all know she needs it!

me: ignoring him So, without further ado, here's the third (and final) installation of my

threeshot! (By the way, it's really long in repayment for the lovely reviews! XD)

Chapter 3: Recovery

Edward Elric was terribly confused; in all forms and definitions of the word. His only memory, one which he clung to with sheer fervency, was one of a smiling boy with kind gray eyes and a face that mirrored his own; only younger and wearier.

He had seen that face every day, easily memorizing the features of his one and only caretaker, the face of his brother, Alphonse. But Ed didn't know that.

He had merely known that this person still cared; and because of that Ed felt eternally grateful to him, wanting to keep this person happy and maybe even thank him one day. But, sadly, Al had disappeared and left Ed completely alone; a mere week ago too.

And not even the many smiling faces that now greeted him every day could replace the one face he wanted to see most.

Ed knew that he had done something good, because after the burying of the box everyone was nice to him again. Even the lady with yellow hair, who usually made faces at him whenever Al wasn't looking. Well, when Al was still here, anyway.

He still couldn't understand why everyone suddenly started talking to him and paying attention to him, but he figured it had something to do with the stinging rain from before, seeing as everybody seemed really surprised when the black-haired man saw it.

Oh, the black-haired man. Roy, everyone called him, or sometimes a funny noise that sounded something like the word fur with an 'oo' sound instead of 'er'. But that was beside the point. The fact of the matter was that Roy's heavy footfalls in the hall could be heard stomping towards his room.

The Fuhrer Roy Mustang tapped his foot impatiently as the woman at the front desk checked the list of room numbers again and again. Was it really that hard to find the name Elric? It wasn't a particularly common surname, so what was taking so damn long?

Not to mention that the nurse was probably attracted to him, if the look she'd worn when he'd walked through the door had been any indication, so that made her occasional glance at him even more annoying than it would have been.

Luckily, before anyone could suffer intense third degree burns, she noticed his irritation and cleared her throat slightly before mumbling the room number with a sigh.

"…Room 10B, sir…" Hastily, he thanked her and stalked off towards the designated room, leaving an indignant and somewhat confused receptionist in his wake.

At least it's not raining anymore, Roy thought sullenly.

As Roy opened the door, he heard an unexpected sound. A small, content exhalation of breath came from somewhere inside the room. He smiled warmly; it had only been a couple of days and Ed seemed to be recovering so fast.

He surveyed the room, glad that, although it was quite small, it seemed to provide a wonderful environment for the elder Elric to recover in; what with a lovely view of the shining sun outside and beautiful, colorful flowers lining the walls inside.

After he'd walked into the room, Roy turned to face the small Ed-sized bed placed in the middle, complete with its very own chibi alchemist. "Good morning, Ed." he greeted, amused when the boy made several strange sounds in reply.

"Go-odd morn-in…?" He smiled again; obviously Winry had been trying to get Ed to talk earlier in the week. "Very good, Edward." He laughed softly when the blonde beamed at the praise.

"Now let's try some sounds…."

And so Roy's teachings began; always a few days apart from Winry's of course, so as not to overwhelm the poor teen with words and knowledge.

But while Winry focused on trying to get Edward to remember things (a task that proved frustrating and extremely difficult for him) Roy's lessons usually consisted of sounds, which progressed into words, which eventually became whole sentences.

All of the lessons were verbal and involved plenty of patience and compassion from Roy, two things that he wasn't particularly good with, so the man was forced to learn a bit himself. Of course, this was perfectly fine with him.

After all, the lessons seemed to be going pretty well, and he enjoyed visiting the teen. Little did he know that eventually he would be faced with a challenge even more difficult to cope with than teaching. Edward's insatiable curiosity.

One morning, almost a month after their lessons together had started; Roy began teaching Edward how to ask specific questions. It had proved a difficult subject for the man to explain, so he had to develop this particular lesson with especial caution. Basically, he didn't want the boy asking the nurses awkward questions that only Edward himself could possibly know the meaning of.

Still, although the situation started like many of their lessons (a friendly exchange of news from both parties, Ed's grammar slightly lacking of course), it slowly began its descent on a downward spiral of doom when Roy noticed a rather distracted Edward.

"What's wrong with you today, Ed? Daydreaming during class isn't like you." Roy chided with a small smirk. Ed flushed at being caught looking out the window again during the lesson before turning a glare onto his "teacher."

"Nothing's wrong! I'm just so…." He furrowed his brow in annoyance before brightening slightly, "confused!"

Roy eyed Ed apologetically; he'd known he wasn't good at teaching. "I'm sorry, Ed. What part of my lesson confuses you?" He found himself intrigued when Ed shook his head rapidly before replying, "Not that, not that!"

One of Roy's eyebrows arched as he looked at Ed strangely. "Then what is it?"

Now the poor boy looked embarrassed and, with a bright blush, mumbled something quietly under his breath.

If Roy wasn't so worried about him, he might have laughed at Ed's discomfort; but right now he really wanted to know what oh what could trouble him so. "Edward," he began, a serious tone creeping into his voice, "What's wrong?"

The blonde gazed up at him beneath long, golden eyelashes; as though he were ashamed by whatever it was he wanted to say. "Where…where's Alphonse?" Roy's breath caught in his throat; he could hear his heart pounding in his chest. How could he answer this?

He knew this would happen. There was no way that Ed could just forget all that Al had done for him, and Roy certainly didn't want him to, but there were times like these that he wished that Ed had never known about his brother. At least then he wouldn't have to explain Al's death.

Hours seemed to pass before Roy finally exhaled a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and dared to speak. Fortunately, he'd noticed the window beforehand.

"Why don't we go outside? It's nice and warm today." Ed cocked his head to one side. He didn't know why Roy appeared to be avoiding his question; it seemed simple enough (almost stupid in fact, hence the embarrassment). He merely wanted to know where the boy who had taken such good care of him had run off to all of a sudden.

After all, the old lady who visited wouldn't tell him and the blonde (Roy had told him that people with yellow hair were called that) girl would only burst into tears whenever he brought Al up.

So, he figured, why not ask Roy? He'd been pretty straightforward in his lessons, so why would he have trouble with a question that no one seemed able to answer?

But all those thoughts got pushed to the far corners of his mind when he heard the word 'outside.' Ed grinned widely and nodded enthusiastically at Roy's question.

He supposed he would remember whatever he'd been asking when they came back inside.

Roy had to stop to help Ed into his wheelchair (and some clean clothes), but soon after they were on their way. Thankfully, excitement from the prospect of going outside seemed to erase all thoughts of Al for now; but who knew how long that could last?

Even as he beamed at the practically glowing boy in front of him, Roy couldn't help but feel the dread that came from the prospect of explaining to Ed exactly what had happened to his brother. Unfortunately, life in the military didn't exactly prepare him for little things called white lies. It was either the truth or nothing at all with him.

So, Roy may not have known how to "beat around the bush," but he certainly did know how to procrastinate. And procrastinate was exactly what he planned to do.

Edward grinned happily as Roy wheeled him into the sunlight, all suspicions and worries forgotten; completely replaced by the overwhelming joy he felt all the way down to his toes.

He 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed as they passed shop after shop; pointing excitedly at anything that caught his interest. This of course included just about everything.

As Roy saw people laughing at Edward's obvious delight, he couldn't help but laugh with them. The teen's glee was practically contagious anyway.

Finally, Roy pulled Ed to a stop when the blonde boy started to bounce in his seat; pointing at something and trying to get Roy's attention. The man followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow when he saw the cause of Ed's enthusiasm.

"A flower shop?" He chuckled. Ed looked like he was about to jump out of the wheelchair and try to run himself to the small stand. "Alright, alright. I'm going."

At this, Ed's eyes sparkled and he smiled as wide as he could; looking like he was stretching his face out to its limit. Roy chuckled again. When Ed got his memory back he was going to have hours of fun tormenting him.

"Look Roy! Look!!!" Ed pointed animatedly to a single blue rose, almost azure in the sunlight. "Isn't it pretty?" Roy smiled, his eyes crinkling. Ed seemed so childlike sometimes; it made him almost regret the progress he was making.

"They're beautiful, Edward. Would you like one for Winry?" He grinned when Ed became bright crimson; a sheer contrast to the royal blue of the rose he held. "N-no thank you…" he mumbled, eyes trained on his lap.

Roy laughed and Ed stuck his tongue out; though he had said that Winry was sometimes mean to him, it was obvious that even with amnesia the boy still had feelings for her.

The poor salesman standing behind the cart seemed more than a little uncomfortable.

When Roy finally managed to control his laughter, he turned to the merchant. "How much are the blue roses?"

The merchant appeared to be young; a man no older than twenty perhaps with sandy brown hair and gray eyes. Eyes like Al's, Roy noted quickly.

But he also seemed shy, meaning that the flower stand was probably a family business that he had recently started taking a part in. Roy felt a twinge of sympathy for the young man when his eyes widened slightly.

"Th-they're…um…." Roy waited patiently as the clerk grabbed a list of prices and looked down the list for the rose. "Oh! They're 10,000. Each." Roy felt his jaw hit the floor.

"T-ten thousand?? I think you're off by a couple of decimal points there!" The merchant gave him a rueful look, "I'm sorry sir, but blue roses are extremely rare. We only get a shipment of about four or five each week; ever since our usual supplier stopped growing them that is."

Roy sighed. There was no way he was going to afford to buy five of those, or even one for that matter. Being the flame alchemist and Fuhrer doesn't allot much money for his "research."

"What's wrong?" Ed looked at the man, slightly worried that he should be so upset. Seeing this, Roy quickly grinned at the teen. "Nothing, Ed. It just looks like the only blue roses I'll be getting will be on my deathbed." Ed quirked an eyebrow and Roy quickly realized his mistake. Damn, he'd been hoping to avoid this awhile longer.

"Deathbed?" Roy cursed when he heard the inquiry, preparing himself to answer it without making anymore mistakes. Suddenly, Ed's face broke into a grin. "Can I have some on my deathbed?" The merchant sputtered and Roy's eye twitched a few times.

Obviously, Ed thought he meant an actual bed instead of a figurative one. Great, now he'd have to explain figures of speech too.

But since he really didn't want to do that, he chose the easy way out. "Of course, Ed." he replied wryly, "I'll give you a dozen blue roses on your deathbed."

After that, Roy decided that it was truly best to stay inside.

Ed felt rather strange this morning. A week had passed since the flower incident, and Ed had felt fine during that time, but today he felt abnormally cold. And his head hurt. Really bad.

He supposed he should tell Roy when he came for lessons today, because being cold on such a warm morning couldn't be natural, but he didn't want Roy to worry. Besides, what did Ed know? It could just be some sort of side affect from going outside once and then staying inside all this time or something, right? Or so he thought.

But Ed didn't know anything, and that was the problem. He only knew that he felt weird and that he was starting to feel weaker and more tired all the time; often times his throat was sore and his nose would run also, but he somehow managed to hide all of these strange occurrences from Roy, Winry, and Pinako (his most frequent visitors) for the first few days.

But that ended when, on the fourth night, Edward suddenly had a fever of one hundred and one degrees.

The Rockbell family ran to meet the doctor standing just outside of the emergency room, where Ed had been moved last night when his temperature unexpectedly rose, and immediately started grilling him for information.

"Doctor, what's wrong with him?" Winry asked anxiously, worry growing as she watched Ed lying on a bed, sweating profusely. Her grandmother stood behind her, clenching her hands as she too watched on. They had been called in the morning and told of Ed's situation, but Pinako still had one question in her mind: How could Ed have gotten so sick so quickly?

"We're not sure, as of yet. There are quite a few symptoms present that have shown up in other recent cases, but it will take a few tests for a complete diagnosis." Pinako watched the doctor's face as he detailed the information. He was hiding something, she could tell. The detached tone, the gritted teeth; both signs of a doctor trying to keep the family of a patient calm, no matter how troubled they themselves may be.

"Doctor, if this happens to be like those other cases, how high is the chance of fatality?" The physician visibly flinched when the old woman spoke to him; an equally stoic tone masking the worry she probably felt. He felt hesitant to tell her the truth, but she knew the answer from his silence.

"I see." were her only words before she turned towards the ladies' room, wanting to be out of sight when she did finally break down.

"Hello?" A deep voice greeted her, and she sighed in relief. She didn't think she could talk to anyone else right now.

"Roy? Edward's…sick. Do you think you can come to the hospital?" Winry hoped she didn't sound too desperate.

There were the distinct sounds of crashes and curses on the other end and soon the voice spoke again. "Sick? How sick? What's wrong? Is he okay???" She bit her lip. Should she tell him? No, probably not. Better to let him see for himself.

"Just come here, okay? Bye."

Roy stared numbly at the phone, frenzied thoughts coursing through his mind. What did she mean by 'sick'? Like a cold? Or was it something more serious? More importantly, was it fatal?

His thoughts halted on that question. No, it couldn't be. If Edward died as well…he wasn't sure what he would do. God, he felt so damn helpless!

Why did everyone, every single person he cared about have to die?

But he shouldn't be thinking about that. Right now, he needed to focus on doing the only thing he could for Edward.

Quickly, he ordered someone to get his car.

Roy strode determinedly past the receptionist and walked straight towards the first white coat he glimpsed. He had to take a few calming breaths to remind himself that the doctor wasn't at fault for Ed's sickness.

"Where's...Ed?" He managed to gasp out. Strangely, the doctor seemed to know what he was talking about. "Emergency Room 15. Ask for Dr. Noriega."

Roy quirked an eyebrow when the doctor continued to stride right past him and into a waiting room, returning minutes later with the Rockbells. Roy turned a questioning gaze onto the family as they followed the doctor he had talked with; Pinako shook her head, as if to say 'Not here.'

He followed them, all the while pondering why Pinako had seemed so tense.

"Dr. Noriega, I presume?" the elderly woman's question was directed towards the young, female doctor standing in front of the door to the emergency room. The small group behind her waited fretfully for the information they had wanted from the beginning.

"Yes. I suppose you would like to know the diagnosis now?" Pinako was slightly taken aback; usually the doctors would try a little more sugar coating before giving the good or bad news. "I would." She replied simply, bracing herself along with the others for whatever news there might be.

The doctor sighed; her job was truly one of the hardest in the medical field. "Well…the good news is that this is merely a case of the influenza virus and his fever has gone down considerably…" There was a double sigh of relief from Roy and Winry as Pinako seemed even more apprehensive than before. "And the bad news…?" Winry and Roy tensed, the same thought running through their minds: there was more?

"His immune system seems to have been weakened by the near-comatose state his body had been in and we're not quite sure how far the virus has progressed at this point." Winry felt tears gather in her eyes as she recognized the phrase. 'We're not sure' was just another way of saying 'don't get your hopes up.'

Roy stared in disbelief; no, it couldn't be true. There was no way Ed could possibly die, it just wasn't feasible. He shook his head, wondering at the surreal quality of those words; Ed and die didn't belong in the same sentence.

He snapped his head up when Pinako spoke again after what seemed like decades.

"Are there…" She had to take a deep breath to steady herself, "…any chances of recovery?" The doctor eyed the diminutive woman in front of her. Only a few minutes had passed and the doctor already felt an immense respect for her; where most people would fall apart, this old lady stood strong.

"Only time will tell." She sighed.

"May…May we see him?" Winry asked, stumbling on her words. The doctor nodded; these might be his last moments after all.

The blonde girl wiped her tears on her sleeve and bravely took the first steps into the room, Roy and Pinako not far behind.

Edward eyed the incoming group wearily; his eyes brightening with the smile he couldn't quite form on his lips.

"Hey…guys…would you mind telling me…where the hell Al is?" The small party froze; that didn't sound like the Edward they had been spending so much time with at all.

Roy was the first one to speak, finding support in Ed's small curse. "Sorry, Fullmetal. Al's been gone for awhile now…" The others creased their brows together in confusion; since when did Roy call Ed 'Fullmetal' again?

"Oh…hey General Bastard, what are you…doing here? Actually…What am I doing here?" Realization struck Winry and Pinako at the use of Ed's old nickname for Roy. He was back. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, was finally back.

Immediately, Winry ran to Ed's side, tears streaming down her cheeks as she buried her face into his sheets; all the while mumbling incoherently about everything that had happened in the last few months. Pinako merely stood off to the side, a single tear glistening on her cheek as she thought of the irony of it all.

Roy felt the tears beginning to well up in his eyes as well, and hastily blinked them away; deciding to walk forward and take hold of Edward's automail hand in a sign of comfort.

"Ed, I remember you distinctly saying that you wouldn't die before I did. Do you know how much work this is going to cause me? You could've waited to die until after you retired." Roy managed a small smirk underneath the tears.

"Shut up, General. You still owe me a dozen blue roses, don't think I've forgotten." Ed smiled slightly, a mere tugging at the edge of his lips.

Roy chuckled, a sad, choking sound that could pass for a quiet sob. "It's Fuhrer Roy, Edward." Ed creased his eyebrows, trying to think of a good response. "Whatever."

Ed sighed out of exhaustion; his eyes already drooping slightly. "I think I might just go to sleep now, guys…"

Pinako felt her eyes blur slightly, and blinked furiously before answering. "Say hello to Alphonse and Trisha for us Edward." He snorted.

"You know I don't believe in that crap, Granny." She wrinkled her nose. "All right, all right, fine I will." Winry raised her head from Edward's sheets.

"Be careful, Ed." He looked to her, giving a quick nod of acceptance.

"Good luck, Fullmetal." Ed frowned at Roy and turned to look upwards.

"Here I come…ready or not, Al."

And as the smile left his lips and his grip on their hands loosened, they knew he was gone.

me: T.T

Sora: T.T

Special Thanks to: Syolen, Raiiyumi, Renneh, TenshiElric,Chibi Hayaku Hashiru,A.YamiYugi,Took-Baggins,Skitty Kat Girl, Anorak Myth, MithLuin,Night Rain Illusion

For reviewing and making this incredibly long chapter possible!