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(Age 15)

Elizabeth sniffled softly. She had completely calmed down and managed to regulate her breathing. She looked around her room, the lights of the morning just barely cutting onto the floor through the closed curtain. Jean lay next her sitting form, fast asleep on her bed. Riza, too, was asleep. She was sitting in Al's chair, her drowsy face supported by her arm on the arm of the chair. Elizabeth sighed in content. She still couldn't quite believe that they'd both been there for her. Havoc, she somewhat understood his concern. Riza...not really. Hawkeye's devotion had always been Roy Mustang. Both protecting and watching over him, always his adviser and backup.

It's over, She thought fondly to herself, The nightmare is all gone. She decided that it was late enough in the morning for her to be awake, so she tip-toed to the bathroom so as to let the guards sleep. She knew she'd kept them up late last night, it had been past midnight when she woke up from the night terror.

As she went to close the bathroom door, she thought better and moved deftly back into the room, snatching her normal outfit out of the drawers. She knew better than to leave clothes in the room. A wicked thought passed through her mind as she glanced at the crumpled clothes she had indelicately pulled out of her drawer, Or do I? She slunk into the bathroom, her face flushed at the indecent thought of returning here with Jean present in only a towel. She forcibly shook the thought from her mind and turned on the shower, not getting in until she double-checked the door's lock.

The sound of a shower jolted the two guards out of their light sleep. True, they'd been fast asleep, but they never slept too deeply. Riza rattled the bathroom door nob gently, checking the lock. Jean was a bit dazed, trying to figure out how he ended up sleeping in Beth's bed.

Seeing his puzzlement, Riza answered the unasked question, "You fell asleep holding her, I fell asleep watching her. I guess we could both be considered creeps now." Her voice was back to the sharp, and definitely sarcastic tone. Jean wondered how this woman could possibly be the sweet thing that had comforted Beth last night.

"Hey." He remarked quickly to his defense, "She hugged me." He emphasized strongly.

Riza nodded, giving a sense that she didn't really agree, and replied, "Of course."

Jean gritted his teeth and ignored her comment, getting up off of Beth's bed, as if she'd never know. He was frustrated with himself, knowing that he fell asleep before she did. Though she regulated her breathing and closed her eyes, Havoc was certain he would have heard her had she ever fallen asleep again. Nightmares those bad don't just disappear because you wake up.

Silence swept through the room once more, save for the beat of the shower and Elizabeth's singing, both of which ended soon after, as she got out of the shower. Under other circumstances, Jean might have been amused by her singing, even if they couldn't hear the words to her song. But something about her attitude, how she could sing happily so soon after a night terror, didn't set well with him. It didn't aide his peace of mind, or Hawkeye's, that they honestly didn't understand her dream. These two, who had never performed alchemy in their lives, couldn't even begin to comprehend the existence of the gate, much less the significance of being forcibly dragged into it.

Whatever train of thought they might have had derailed at a sudden strangled noise of frustration coming from the bathroom. The distressed call was followed shortly by Elizabeth snapping, "Dammit, Edward! I'm going to kill you!" Riza swiftly moved to the door, only a split second before Jean, and knocked. A loud crash sounded through the bathroom and into the bedroom followed quickly by an angrier tone seething out, "Fuck."

Elizabeth appeared in place of the door only moments later, quite a sight to see. She was flushed red with anger and her automail hand pressed against a small cut on her head. Her hair was still dripping wet and down, water from it trailing down her shoulders and onto her chest, covered only by her slightly too-small bra. She was wearing her skirt, but hadn't put on her tights yet, leaving both her natural and automail legs bare, along with her feet.

Jean found himself staring at her. He'd never seen the scar connecting metal to skin. It was a medium between the two polar opposites. Like the metal, it was harsh-looking, but like the rest of her, it was delicate and living. When he tore his eyes from the scar, they met the next 'safe' spot to look, her face. At least, he thought it was a safe place. It was distorted with anger and disgust as her left arm came defensively up to shield her scar from his prying eyes.

"Get out, Havoc! Can't you see I don't have a shirt on?" She snapped angrily, much more embarrassed about the staring than the her shirtless state. She was positively fuming, but the reason was completely unclear to her.

Riza gave her a soft smile as Jean slipped out of the room. He was a little embarrassed that he'd been caught starting, but much more embarrassed because he believed that she thought he'd been staring at her chest. He slumped himself against the wall outside the room and lit up a cigarette.

"So," Hawkeye said Elizabeth, who was still clutching her automail scar, "I take it you're still a bit sensitive?" Elizabeth clenched her jaw and tried to refrain from any emotion. Due to her lack of response, Riza took a different approach, "What's wrong, Elizabeth?" she inquired concernedly.

The girl before her dropped her mask and gulped timidly, "Why does it all have to happen when I'm not with Ed?" she whimpered softly. "Havoc lying to me, Edward getting attacked, my brothers getting hurt, the nightmare, and... and..." she trailed off, unable to express herself. Telling Riza like this made it seem like less than it felt. Saying 'Havoc lied to me' didn't tell how much she'd shared with him or how much she'd trusted him by the time he lied. Saying 'Edward was attacked' had no mention of her helplessness or Havoc's restraints. Just saying her brothers were hurt didn't express how close Scar's attack was to Al's blood seal, how close he was to becoming nothing. What she said made everything seem so insignificant in comparison to the actual events that had unfolded over the past week or two.

Riza's eyes softened, "I understand." The woman said nothing more as she proceeded to shoo Elizabeth into the bathroom. She grabbed the girl's shirt and jacket, silently throwing them at her. A puzzled Elizabeth caught them purely out of reflex, but understood clearly enough. She put them on an pulled her still-wet hair out of the back before it soaked her shirt and jacket too much.

"Why are you in h-" Elizabeth began to ask, but Riza promptly interrupted her by grabbing her shoulders and making her sit on the toilet seat. The frustrated girl let out an annoyed grunt, but questioned no further. Hawkeye snatched a brush off the bathroom sink and began pulling it gently through her damp hair. The gesture surprisingly relaxed Elizabeth, and she found herself getting quite drowsy. Perhaps it was just the lack of sleep, though.

Hawkeye smiled fondly at the sleeping girl, wondering how she'd managed to stay awake for so long. She moved her fingers deftly through the quickly-drying blonde hair, deciding on a new hairstyle for the teenager. She knew that something so superficial couldn't cure her problems, but something new and cute could do wonders for a girl's self-esteem. Especially with Havoc, Riza thought sarcastically.

Within half an hour, Elizabeth's hair was completely dried and done into a simple pin. Her bangs were pinned back and to her left, opening up her face to show her feminine features. Riza had noticed how insecure the girl was feeling and it wasn't that surprising, seeing at she and Edward truly did look identical at a glance. This was her favor to Elizabeth, a sort of support on her part.

The girl jolted up, gasping for air. Riza snatched her hands away, just barely missing the hair and ruining the entire hairdo. "S-Sorry" She mumbled out, standing up to excuse herself.

"Look in the mirror." Riza ordered, pretending to have not seen Elizabeth's outburst. She was sure that the girl had revisited the nightmare from last night, and didn't want to bring it back up.

Puzzlement painted across her face, Elizabeth did as told anyway. She gasped at the strange new 'do, but definitely didn't object. A smiled replaced the puzzlement and she whirled around to hug Riza, thanking her repeatedly.

"Oh!" Elizabeth exclaimed while exiting the bathroom, "I almost forgot my tights!" she made a beeline for her dresser, but Riza held out a hand to halt her path.

She shook her head at the girl, "No tights today." Hawkeye was going to give this girl some confidence, if it was the last thing she did. Elizabeth didn't need to hide behind her brothers, her tights, her bangs, or her jacket anymore. Riza had never even seen the girl's flames in action. She scarcely used them because of her constant state of protection.

Elizabeth blinked at her sudden interest in her fashion, but nodded, "Okay, then what are we doing today?" She questioned skeptically, her eyes following Hawkeye as she walked across the room. Riza, on the other hand, didn't watch the girl, but continued walking until she reached the door.

"Office work. What did you expect?" She replied coyly, opening the door to reveal a bored and smoking Jean.

Havoc, thinking he was being invited in again, pushed himself off the wall and turned on his heel to enter. He paused when his eyes met Elizabeth, noting, "You look nice," before letting himself in. A string of smoke followed the ashtray as he walked past the girls to sit on Beth's bed.

Elizabeth's temper flared as she gritted her teeth and marched over to where he sat, getting right in his face. "Don't smoke in my room!" She scolded harshly, pointing at him accusingly, "Just because you don't mind smelling like an ashtray doesn't mean I want my room to!"

Havoc's wide eyes went from her finger to her red face as soon as she was done speaking. He had to admit she looked much better without Edward's hair. It was always a bit odd, thinking she was cute while she looked exactly like her brother. His face flushed like a schoolboy's at the internal thought, and immediately he put out the cigarette, shoving it into his pocket. "Fine." He relented quickly.

Happy, Elizabeth turned and walked out of the room behind Riza. Though oblivious, she soon had Havoc in tow as they made their way to Mustang's office.

Sorry if this one's a bit short. I like to keep them all on one main event, if you haven't noticed, and it would've been too long had I gone to the next event! I guess this one's kinda a filler, isn't it? Oh well, the next one will be better:DD