Some days,
I feel everything at once.
Other days,
I feel nothing at all.

I don't know what's worse:
Drowning beneath the waves Or dying from the thirst.

- o.m.

The warm sand against my back was a welcome contrast to the cold breeze slipping over my skin. The sun blazed high above me, and I stretched my arms to rest over my head as I gazed up at the clear, blue sky. My paradise only became better as Edward crawled over me, smirking in satisfaction as his amber eyes roamed my body. He eyed me like I was a steak dinner and I loved every second of it.

"Ed, how-"

"Shhh..." He hushed me quietly, putting a single digit to my lips as he leaned down and kissed me just below the ear. He placed another on my throat, then on my collar bone as he ran his flesh finger from my lips slowly down my neck and over my chest to part the soft fabric of my shirt and lay a kiss on my sternum. Warmth bloomed through me. I let out a sigh of happiness, and closed my eyes as his strong hands continued to explore. I went to rake my fingers through his long strands of spun wheat, but found I couldn't move my exhausted arms from their position over my head. So I laid back, enjoying the hot sand against my flesh and the cold breeze in my hair. He growled as he gripped my thighs and pushed my long legs apart to settle himself between. He wore dark jeans that rode low on his hips and nothing else; he wasted no time letting me know of his intentions as he grabbed my hips and pulled me against him so I could feel his need through the fabric. He grinned at me wickedly, and I watched his head dip down to start nipping at my skin, working his way up. His grinding against me quickened my breathing, and his teeth gently grazed over my skin, nipping and sucking. Desire raged through me as he worked his way over my shoulders, his careful and steady movements becoming hurried as his resolve began to slip. His thrusts grew stronger, his fingers dug into my hip harshly, and when his lips found the swell of my breast, he bit down.

I cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain, and his hand swiftly clapped over my mouth and we were nose to nose as he glared at me.

"Shut up." He growled. And then he kissed me roughly, his tongue forcing it's way past my lips. He tasted like tequila.

Edward hated tequila.

My eyes snapped open and my paradise was gone. I was in my room, with my hands tied to my headboard, and someone was sitting between my legs, pushing my silk robe open to run their hands down my nakedness towards my underwear.

I screamed.

Fire exploded from my cheekbone when he hit me.

"Shut up, bitch!" He roared.

Fear sliced through me as he gripped a fistful of my hair, forcing my head to the side as he dragged his textured tongue over the skin he had back-handed. I couldn't make out his features in the darkness. Ed's brilliant eyes always cut through blackness, but I couldn't see the intruder's. He reeked of stale cigarettes and when he kissed me his breath was rank with an alcohol that Edward never drank. I could feel from the way his punishing hands gripped whatever he pleased that they were both flesh, and I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a choked sob as his fingers moved to slip under my lacey black panties. But he never made it there.

My bedroom door slammed open and I felt the weight my attacker swiftly dragged off me and out the door, into the living room. The distinctive ratchet of a gun's hammer pulling back sounded through the apartment, and a single shot blasted out. Above the man's agonized screaming came Ed Elric's voice, clear and deadly.

"Stay there and keep your mouth shut, or I'll shoot the other knee."

Humiliation rolled over me as I curled myself into a ball on my side, turned away from the violence happening mere feet from me. Uneven footfalls came into my room. Elric said nothing as he pulled my robe over my exposed body, and brandished a pocket knife to cut me loose. Lowering my arms was almost painful from being bound uncomfortably above me for so long, and he gently turned me on my back to look at me. I opened my eyes and was met with his expression of grave seriousness, and his eyes roamed my body quickly looking for any obvious injuries before settling back on my face. Warm fingers carefully examined the shiney red skin on my cheek that would surely be black and blue the next morning. Despite his usual feather-light touch, pain radiated across my face from the sore skin and I sucked in a breath.

Edward straightened up and scooped me into his arms, carrying me past my attacker in the living room and into the guest room where he settled me into his bed and pulled his fur blanket over me.

"Backup's on it's way. I pushed the panic button on my phone when I heard yelling. Until they get here I need to deal with this guy. Will you be okay for a couple minutes?"

His steady gaze on me did little to calm my nerves, and my speeding heartrate hadn't slowed, but I nodded my head sollumly, telling myself I was a big girl. He released the empty cartridge from his gun and slid a new magazine into it as he headed back into the livingroom with handcuffs and duct tape to deal with the man who was bleeding all over my hard-wood floors. I pulled myself to sit up and watched Edward from the warmth of his sheets as he dragged over a chair from the kitchen table and forced the intruder into it. After handcuffing him and taping his ankles to the chair legs, Ed moved to the front door when Roy Mustang's voice bellowed from the other side of it.

I didn't want Roy or anyone else from the military to see me. It was embarrassing enough that they would know what happened tonight but they didn't have to see me like this, so I slipped out of bed and moved into the bathroom. The mirror showed me a face far more tragic that what I had imagined. My eyes were glossy from fought-back tears, my hair was tangled in knots from thrashing around, the bruise on my cheek seemed to be darkening by the minute. Purple shadows fell under my tired eyes and I opened my silk robe to examine the rest of me. My hip showed the evidence of where his fingers gripped me roughly, and my hand flew to my mouth as a wave of nausea swept over me. Along the top of my breast were the distinctive markings of teeth. A vicious-looking bite that nearly drew blood, and left red and purple gouges in my porcealin skin.

I only vaguely heard the sound of my name coming from the bedroom. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the mess in the mirror. My boiling cup of anger and humiliation had finally runneth over, and tears spilled down my bruised face. When Edward came into my view his face was etched with concern, his eyes wide and wary, clearly trying to find the right words but coming up empty. Without saying anything I knew he was blaming himself for this. I didn't have it in me to stay strong any longer. I didn't have the strength left to push away my emotions any more. The dam broke, Ed pulled me into his arms, and I sobbed.

A/N: Thank you very much for all of your reviews. More soon.