Chapter 11

Making the Grade

The night was black and heartless looking, with cars rushing about and lights twinkling from the buildings. Edward shivered slightly as he snuck up to the pimp building, following Roy and Havoc. Edward's breath fogged out in front of him and his face-mask itched terribly.

They had finally gotten their warrant. The prostitute, drug, and death-gang bust was going to be the biggest in 20 years. Edward and Roy's team had investigated all the extents of it throughly before heading in to capture the leader of it all. Scar. His bloody and dangerous rampage was coming to an end.

Havoc's new girlfriend was furiously taping the whole event, this was going to be her big-break in the media. She, of course, had to sign an explicit contract, preventing her from releasing the tape prematurely. It also guaranteed that she would not disclose any information that the NYPD found unnecessary to the coverage. Havoc was only allowing her along in the first place because he was madly in love with her, and, as an added bonus, she knew how to use a gun.

However, Edward's thoughts were not concerned with Havoc's girlfriend. His thoughts were not even considering the possibility of death on his part, only Scar's. For, he surely believed that God would not allow him to die, due to the fact that Winry was waiting for him, and he was waiting to give her "the ring."

When he had bought the ring, he had not chosen a traditional diamond one. He had bought a large blue sapphire with diamonds surrounding it. When he had seen it, the thought of Winry's clear blue eyes compelled him to buy the ring. The ring was incarnate of her, and of their love for each other.

After staking out their snipers, Edward whispered into his collar. "All groups prepared for the strike. Permission to move." Edward controlled his breathing as he waited for Roy's voice to come across the radio in an authoritative voice.

"Granted."

Edward motioned with his hand to his group and they started siege on the building. Edward slid his night-vision over his head and ran towards the first building, feeling his heart pounding in his ears.

Edward met up with Roy at the first door, which Roy then kicked in. Edward ran in, quickly taking out any surprised guards with well-aimed shots from his hand-gun. They fell to the floor and Roy jumped in ahead, dispelling anyone else with a smoke-bomb. Edward heard a few choking gags as more men fell to the floor. They took note of the passed out guardsmen, keeping their gas masks on and shoving the men into a closet. A few more men ran in, but Havoc quickly took them out with his gun as well. As the men layed moaning on the ground in pain (he had shot them in the leg) the group reassembled and prepared to move on.

Roy and Edward, with Havoc and Fallman following closely, plowed on. They quickly and stealthily ran up the stairs, constantly communicating with the forces that layed just outside the walls. They reached a walkway spanning over an alley-way that lead to the second building. All the sudden, everything exploded around them. Edward and Roy jumped back as the bridge collapsed. Edward quickly released his grappling hook, as did Roy, and they propelled themselves on to the second building.

There they found lasers and more thugs. Edward quickly drop-kicked one, while Roy secured a hit to another's temple. Edward, not to be outdone by Roy, quickly took out the third with an uppercut. After smirking at Roy, the two continued onto the laser situation. As Fallman decoded the system, Edward and Roy checked in with the other units of the operation, finalizing that the building was secure. Scar was not leaving alive.

After the security fully disabled, the team pressed on, coming onto the roof. They were preparing to jump onto the third building, when a man followed them onto the roof and menacingly held a gun to Havoc's head. As Edward tensed, ready to whip out his own gun to drop the thug dead, the thug did just that, drop dead. Roy slid off his night-vision and smiled in some far off direction. After blowing a kiss and waving did Edward finally realize that the "Hawks-eye" was indeed watching over them. They quickly made the jump to the third building, and made their way closer to Scar.

Running down the stairs at a record pace, Edward thought of Winry again, fleetingly. It was just the image of her smiling face. Yet, in impacted him so much, any weariness he had left his body. He felt invigorated and empowered. He was ready.

Havoc kicked the door open this time. Gunshots quickly came out of the doorway. Edward quickly hoisted the door up as a shield, and shot into the room. Looking up he saw that he had just managed to take out the last of Scar's thugs. Scar had used them as a shield.

In the time that Edward had peeked over the door, he had seen a look in Scar's eyes that mirrored the look of any criminal that was about to be taken down. It was a look of desperation and crazed mentality. Roy quickly took aim behind Edward to shoot Scar. Roy shot, hitting Scar in the leg, as Scar started shooting madly at the door and the doorframe. No matter how thick the door was, Edward was beginning to see holes in it and started worrying for his life. All the sudden, Edward heard the distinct click that meant Scar was out of bullets. Edward quickly abandoned the door, making a kick to the face for Scar. However, Scar dodged and Edward spun out of the way before Scar could retaliate with a punch to Edward. Roy ran into the room, holding a gun to Scar. "Surrender." He growled in a menacing tone.

Scar quickly, seeing his options were limited, jumped backward out of the window, breaking the glass. Scar had just attempted a three-story jump. A jump that would have killed anyone remotely normal. Alas, Scar was not normal.

"No!" Edward cried out, thinking that the fall must have killed him. The world would not receive its due justice if Scar killed himself. Quickly running to the window, Edward looked down and saw that Scar was running away, a bit clumsily because his arm and leg was broken. Police quickly converged upon him and took him down. As the lights flashed around Scar and a pair of handcuffs was secured around his wrists, Edward wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Game over." Mustang said from behind Edward.

---

Edward groaned and layed his head down on his desk. Nothing but dealing with politics of the bust for a week was tiring and Edward hated it. He loved every other part of his job, the investigating, the stakeouts, the bust, but he absolutely hated the paperwork.

Mustang was happily gloating in his office however. The bust had gone very well, he was going to be a father, and he had managed to rid himself of almost all of his paperwork by dumping it on his subordinates. What better reasons to gloat?

Just then, Edward's cell phone rang. He looked at it from where it was laying and looked at the caller ID. Winry. Just who he needed to hear from. Her sweet voice was sure to be comforting.

"Hi Winry…" Edward waited for the sweet melody of Winry's voice to float from the device.

"Edward, I know your busy but we still haven't gotten Elicia's present. Do you just want me to get it?" Edward rubbed a hand over his face.

"That's tomorrow isn't it?" He had completely spaced out from it. Blocking Hughes on their phones after a bust was a tradition upheld by all officers except for Mustang and Edward had happily complied with it. Therefore, he had not gotten reminders all week about it and had forgotten the event completely.

"Yeah, so I thought I would just get the present myself and we could give it to her together?" Winry had wanted to shop for little girl clothes with Edward, but it seemed like that dream was fading quickly.

"No, it'll be a distraction from work. Where do you want to meet?" Winry was suddenly filled with euphoria, and she quickly named a place where cute things were sold.

"Great, I'll be there in 20." Edward hung up and quickly sorted out the paperwork for Monday and told Mustang he was leaving. He then jumped onto the subway to go to the place she mentioned (he had left his car in the garage that morning). On the subway, he thought of the many places that he could ask her to marry him, but they all seemed cheesy and overused. He wanted the situation to be private and sweet.

Then he remembered where the Hughes lived. It was in a small, northern New York town were you could see the stars and the moon easily on a warm night as tomorrow was supposed to be. A place where life was quieter and the smells of the earth quieted your busy mind. Yes, tomorrow he would ask her, finally.

When he saw Winry, waiting for him by the corner they had agreed to meet and his heart almost leaped out of his chest. He smiled warmly, and she greeted him with one of his own.

"So I was thinking that we could get Elicia a big stuffed bear." Winry said as Edward jogged up beside her. He shook his head.

"No, Hughes already has given her about ten of those." He looked into the window of the kids' store they were standing outside of. The store window was filled with puppets, dolls, stuffed toys, and games for all ages. It looked like a posh place to shop, but the Maes would only have the best for his little girl.

"Well, I don't know. Shezka always gives her books, and Roy and Riza always give her the most adorable clothes. I just don't know what she would want…" Winry trailed off, hooking her arm through Edward's and leaning her head on his shoulder. She breathed in, and she could smell his shirt. He smelled warm and inviting, making Winry's head spin with endorphines. Edward was her drug.

"What about a glove, ball, and a bat?" Edward said suddenly.

"For baseball?" Winry looked quizzically up at him.

He nodded. "Maes would love to dress her up like a Yankee and teach her how to play. Father daughter bonding, or something like that." He smiled. He could just picture Elicia missing the ball sometimes and her father ceaseless doting.

Winry smiled. "That's a good idea Edward! Do you think this store would have it?" Edward shrugged.

"I think that a sporting goods store would be better. I think I know a good place too." Edward lead Winry back down the street towards the subway, all the while thinking about some other errands he had to run that day.

---

Alphonse was in his studio, working on improving space for a hotel, when his doorbell rang. He glanced at his watch. "I wasn't expecting anyone here, I wonder whats going on." When he answered the door, a beautiful brunette greeted him with a smile. It was his neighbor, Rose.

"Hi Rose, do you want to come in?" Alphonse politely offered. He had secretly been harboring a crush on Rose ever since he had moved in a few weeks ago, but he thought she was out of his league.

"Yes please. I was making cookies, and I accidentally made too many and I was wondering if you would like some." Rose held up a wicker basket as proof.

"What kind are they?" However, because of his kind nature, he would have eaten them even if he hated them.

"White chocolate with coconut." Rose set the basket down at the kitchen counter and went to go sit on the couch.

"That's great, those are my favorite." Which they were.

Rose turned around and smiled. "That's great! I'm glad I could make something that you would enjoy." Secretly, Rose had been checking Alphonse out ever since he had moved in. She knew that he made quite a bit of money, and he was not hard on the eyes either. In addition, as far as she could tell, he was the kindest man she had ever met. Definitely a keeper. She walked over to the couch to sit down, intending to talk to Alphonse for quite a while.

"What are you doing later today Alphonse?" Rose asked.

"Me? Um, I was going to pack up to leave for upstate New York. My friend's daughter is having a birthday party."

Rose turned around. "Really? How old is she going to be?"

"Six, and her father continues to dote ceaselessly on her." Alphonse chuckled at the memories.

"That's adorable." Rose smiled. She had always dreamed of having a large, happy family; however, living in the heart of New York City prevented that. Albany was where she wanted to live. She stood up. Apparently, it was time to leave, as the conversation had dwindled. "Sorry, but I guess I should be going."

Suddenly realizing that a very beautiful woman was about to walk out the door, Alphonse quickly spoke up. "Would you like some coffee or tea? I have some weird Japanese stuff that I've been waiting to try until I had company." Alphonse smiled his best smile that he could conjure up.

Rose admitted it to herself. She was now smitten.

---

Two hours later the couple was laughing as they told funny stories from their past, work, friends, anything. Rose had realized in the short time that she was not dealing with an ordinary person. He was real, his kindness, his heart, everything was genuine and giving.

Where had he been all of her life?

Rose, all of her; her smile, her eyes, and the odd pink bangs that framed her dark-skinned face, entranced Alphonse. Her voice was magical and her laugh was light and free. He realized that he was smitten. Where had that come from, he had been with plenty of women in his life, but he rarely took the relationship to the last level. However, with Rose, he felt a complete urgency. He wanted to be with her longer, and not just for a few more hours. The urgency felt like he wanted to be with her for years, he wanted to learn what sadness was behind her eyes, what it felt to hold her in the middle of the night.

Where had she been all of his life?

Then Alphonse glanced at the clock again, and cursed himself. He would be late for Elicia's party if he didn't leave in ten minutes. He looked at Rose who was sipping tea. "Rose, I really enjoyed talking to you but, well… I have to leave." He gestured to the clock, which Rose took in. Then, she too, panicked.

"It's that late already!? I'm so sorry Alphonse; I don't know what I'm doing." She quickly stood up, dropped her cup in the sink and headed out the door, with a kiss blown at Alphonse. "See you soon!" Then she was gone.

Alphonse was stunned for a minute, and then he recovered and hurried to leave for the Hughes'.

---

Winry noticed that Edward was tense the whole way. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were intense as he stared down the road. He was obviously thinking about something else, but he did not have a far-away look on his face.

Winry looked back to the road, sighing at the beautiful scenery that flew by her. Upstate New York was so pretty. Winry then tuned in to the radio, which was playing some sad love song. 'What a damper on the mood.' She thought to herself. She turned to the window again. Life was so depressing. She already knew that she wanted to be with Edward for the rest of her life, but she did not know what he felt.

Maybe he did not feel the same, but it had always seemed like he did. She did not really know what to do. Edward was so complicated, one of the reasons she loved him so much. He seemed utterly simple and insipid on the outside, but as one got to know him, one discovered all sorts of levels to him.

All the sudden, "Hungry like the Wolf" started playing on the radio. Winry started tapping her fingers to the rhythm thinking about how Edward, at times, had seemed hungry. She glanced over to him, noticing that he had a slight grin on his face and a knowing look in his eyes. He was also tapping his fingers. Winry smiled.

Yes, her man was very complex indeed.

---

Winry was driving him nuts. The way her hair flitted about her face as the fan blew in her face and the way her smell was permeating the car. Then he would glance over and notice her forlorn face, and would fall even deeper in love with her. The saddest part of the whole situation was that she had no idea how crazy she made him. He had attempted many times to show her, but it had never really panned out the way he wanted. Meaning that she was left unhappy and dissatisfied.

Edward let in a breath of air and slowly let it out. The road-trip up to upstate New York was a difficult one to make, especially with such a lovely being by his side. Her radiance was killing him.

Another factor in the situation was how heavy the ring felt in his pocket. He could feel the sheer weight of the ring and all the feelings that it wrapped inside of it weigh him down. What if she said no? He would be crushed of course. He knew, deep in his gut, that he and Winry were meant to be together. If she said no, he would find no reason to live any longer. He would simply have to cease to exist.

However, if she said yes, his life would begin its journey to completion. It would not be complete yet because he had yet to marry her. He also wanted her to bear his children, to laugh with him, and to die at his side. He could not imagine his life any other way.

Winry glanced over to Edward again. Little did she know how those sidelong glances under her eyelashes left him breathless and made him want to stop the car and kiss her until she was limp and putty in his hands. Nevertheless, he had to restrain himself. For he needed to save that kiss for later, when he finally asked her the question of his lifetime.

Will you marry me?

-----

"Edward! Winry! About time you get here! Elicia wants her birthday cake, but she couldn't eat it until you two arrived. Now where is Alphonse?" Maes was as boisterous as always. And everyone knew that it wasn't Elicia that wanted cake. It was her father who wanted to take pictures of her eating cake.

Then the adorable 5-year-old appeared, in all of her pink glory. Winry coddled her for a bit, while Edward filled Maes in on the newest happenings in New York investigations. Then more cars pulled in, the Mustangs and Alphonse, and the party began. With cake of course.

The party took place in the Hughes' spacious living room with an elegant dining area attached. The wood shone brightly, as if freshly cleaned, and the carpet was immaculate. Everyone was of course eating the pink frosted cake on the tile kitchen floors. Since the Hughes' liked spacious areas, the kitchen had a high vaulted ceiling with sky-lights overhead. At the moment, long pink streamers were hanging from the ceiling in a fashion that only little girls could get away with. Everything was perfect.

As Maes happily took pictures of the "monumental" event that was ensuing, Edward noticed that Elicia had only opened about half of her gifts. Edward thought that was strange, because most little girls on their birthday ripped their packages apart with delightful glory. Edward was pondering this as a chorus of "Happy Birthday" broke out.

Edward looked around, shocked to see another birthday cake brought forth from another room, being carried by Gracia. And as Edward heard his name in the middle of the song he realize that Elicia had shared her birthday with him, yet again.

He should have known. He smiled brightly, he always forgot his birthday and the Hughes' had always shared Elicia's with him. They knew that he was busy, and that sometimes he just forgot important dates. His birthday had never been super important to him, not since his mother had died. Gradually, however, he saw how important it had become to other people. Everyone else saw it as a chance to show Edward their love for him, and Edward realized that. He was as happy as he could be.

"Here you go Edward." Alphonse handed him a thick envelope with silver writing on the front. Edward smiled sheepishly, and opened the envelope. It contained two tickets to Wicked, and a note saying the tickets were for Edward and Winry. It also contained a dinner reservation on the same night for two at a small but expensive restaurant near the theater.

"Thank you Alphonse." Edward smiled at him, grateful for his younger brother. But he wasn't sure where Alphonse was getting the money from.

"This is from us Edward." Riza handed Edward a small black bag. Edward opened it to find a gift card for a pet store and various doggy toys and treats. Edward smiled at Riza and Roy with a strange look.

"I don't have a dog though, but thanks." Riza and Roy looked at each other, then at Winry.

Winry finally piped up. "Well, that's because of what I got you Edward." And she held up a small puppy fitted with automail. "I got him from the Humane Society and decided he needed some new legs too. I've already decided to call him Den." Edward smiled. That was so like Winry.

Edward held the puppy in his arms and smiled. There was indeed happiness in the world. Or so he thought, until the dog peed on him.

Edward quickly handed off the puppy to Winry as he stared in horror at the front of his pants and shirt, now throughly covered with dog pee. He shot Winry an angry look, while she just smiled innocently back at him.

"I'm sorry Edward! I guess he was just nervous." Winry cuddled the puppy, who licked her chin. Edward stomped upstairs to shower and change into different clothes. He ducked into the room that the Hughes were letting Roy and Riza stay in. Edward and Winry were staying in a hotel and Alphonse on the couch.

After he was done changing, and finishing up the last buttons on his black shirt, the door opened slowly. Winry poked her head inside and smiled. "Sorry Edward, are you unhappy now?"

He smiled softly at her. "No Winry, I was just surprised. I'm not used to being peed on." He laughed and Winry smiled. He was so beautiful.

Edward felt that weight in his pocket again. He needed to hurry up and take her on that hike. And hopefully she would say yes to his final question.

---

"Its so nice and clear up here, isn't it Edward?" Winry turned to Edward and smiled. They were taking a well worn trail that lead up to a mountain lake. The trees and sun were so beautiful, and Winry was stunned by their beauty.

While Edward was stunned by hers. As soon as they were at the lake, he would ask her. Winry reached out to Edward with her hand, and he grabbed it gratefully. As they continued to walk, Winry pointed things out to Edward; a fallen tree, a small squirrel, the babble of a stream heard somewhere off in the distance. And Edward listened.

The clearing was up ahead, and Edward could hear the birds chirping. He squeezed Winry's hand tighter and lead her up the last few feet to the clearing.

Winry gasped. She had seen few things that were as beautiful as this lake. The water seemed to be glass, with small ripples caused by dragonflies and fish splashing the surface. There was a small white boat by a dock with oars and a white sand beach. The sun warmed her face and Winry slipped off her shoes and ran towards the beach, sinking her toes in the warm sand. She slid off her shirt (she was wearing her swimsuit underneath) and shorts and jumped into the water. The cool water nipped at her skin and she shivered as she turned to see where Edward was.

He had taken off his shoes and was standing on the beach in his khaki pants and he had rolled up his sleeves. He also had this lazy, satisfied smile on his lips.

"Come on in Edward! The water is fantastic!" Winry called out to him. Edward smiled, and he set down the picnic basket (containing their dinner, they were planning to stay for a while) next to the beach bag that they had brought. He quickly took off his khaki's and shirt and ran down to the water to join Winry.

Winry warmed slightly at the sight of Edward without his shirt on. It always made her happy to know that the man with a body of a god was all hers. As they swam through the cool waters, finding streams and making sand-castles, the sun slid down towards the west. Edward noticed and stepped out of the water.

"Winry lets take this boat out, I want to show you something." Winry quickly agreed and they got dressed and hopped into the little boat. Winry sat at the stern with Edward rowing behind her. He rowed towards the middle of the lake. There he stopped.

"Winry?" She looked at him, smiling. Then she noticed the serious look on his face. Then she knew that he was going to start talking about what he had been thinking about in the car. She thought maybe he wanted to break up, that he was going to tell her that he didn't want her anymore, he wanted something else and she wasn't working out. She prepared herself for this news, giving him the nod of approval for him to begin.

"When I was younger and Alphonse and I had just lost our mother, Maes would often let us stay here and I would come to this lake to think. I would think about the loss of mom, and how I needed to stay strong for Alphonse." Edward sighed. "I would also come out here to cry. When I couldn't take it anymore and I needed to cry, this lake offered a sense of safety and security to me.

As I grew older, and I knew more of the world, I never really found the same feeling anywhere or with anyone besides Alphonse. Until I met you and you helped me with my rehabilitation and getting on with my life. And then being with you… it's the greatest feeling I've ever had the chance to experience.

Which is why Winry, that I want to share the rest of my life with you. I want to share experiences with you, wake up to your loving face every morning, and die with you by my side." Edward reached into his pocket, looking at Winry's shocked face as she followed his hand with her eyes.

"Winry, you would make the happiest man alive if you would answer this question, will you marry me?"

Winry looked wide-eyed at Edward, feeling tears well-up as she tried to blink them away. Her body was filled with such happiness, she thought she would break. All she could do was nod and whisper "yes" over and over.

All the sudden she felt herself being folded into his arms as she cried into his shoulder and clutched at his shirt and pulled him closer to her. Then she felt his lips and she kissed him. The kiss was the most powerful thing she had ever experienced. It held all of the hopes, dreams, and fears that both of them had.

And so the sun set on the pair, and the birds ended their song. The quiet overtook the lake and the pair finally experienced pure and absolute peace.

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Haha! (wipes sweat off forehead) Finally I've updated this monster. I would like to offer a sincere and deep bow of apology to my faithful readers who have been with me since chapter one (I have no way to identify you excatly, but you know who are!) and for any new readers to the story, I would like to also thank.

The reasons behind my not updating are not pure laziness. Yes, there was an amount of laziness, but not very much. So thanks for putting up with me and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Chapter 12 already in progress!!! 