Chapter 13: Steady-

It was a really bright and sunny day out, and Anya was glad that she was going to be outside for it.

She was less glad that it was because she was going to a funeral.

Anya hadn't spent much time around Lieutenant Strauss, but she had been a nice lady, and it was sad to hear she was gone. It was even worse when she saw how Mrs. Marsha had died when she had read her Papa's head, but she was getting more and more used to that. She had put on the nice clothes alongside her daddy, and that morning, after breakfast, they had gone to a big open field just outside the city, where there were a bunch of roundish stones sticking out of the ground.

"We just need to be here to say our condolences, and then we will go get some lunch," Papa said as they walked up to the front of the cemetery, holding her hand to guide her up the hill towards a crowd of people. He was wearing his military clothes today, unlike his usual greener outfit, which was weird to Anya, but she understood he had to wear it as part of his spy gig, and because it was more formal. Half the crowd was wearing the same blue uniform, while the other half were wearing black.

'I can't believe she's gone, we just got coffee on Monday,' one woman they passed with a blue uniform looked over the funeral crowd.

'Aunty no,' A girl a few years older than Anya herself was crying inside and outside.

The service itself wasn't too long. The head of the hospital and Colonel Mustang spoke, and then several men in blue uniforms carried a box that Anya understood to carry Mrs. Strauss's body. She didn't want to see what was inside the box, her Papa's memories of the lady's death were so bad she had nightmares.

Which was honestly happening a lot lately.

'This is way too hard,' Anya kept a groan to herself, and tried to only focus on her Papa, who was scanning the crowd for spy reasons she didn't quite get, 'I didn't know being adopted would mean I'd just keep seeing scary stuff.'

'I need to see if I can find the Lieutenant's husband,' Lloyd said, 'I should at least offer my condolences to him, and thank him for the kindness that she showed my daughter. Better to leave on as friendly a set of terms as possible.'

'Find Mrs. Strauss's wife, got it,' Anya began to scan the crowd, and then opened her mind.

And then she closed it immeadiatly.

'Too much,' she groaned, placing a hand on her head, and then feeling tears form in her eyes. She had tried to read too many minds at once, and the overload from that many people had overwhelmed her. It was almost like when she had read the minds of that Dark Lady Lust while she had been back in the bad place. She shook her head, while tears still poured out of her eyes.

She then felt a light hand tap her chin, and then a small piece of cloth wipe away the tear. She looked up at her father, who was smiling sadly down at Anya. She opened her mind again to try and hear his thoughts.

"-obably never been to a real funeral,' Twilight thought, 'She hasn't experienced anything like this since her mother, so this is probably the first time she's had to take in feelings like this in a long time,' he focused on wiping away the rest of the tears.

"It's okay, Anya," he said, placing a hand on the top of her head, "It's okay to feel this way when someone dies. It is very sad, but that's life, and we should recognize we are sad because of the happiness that person shared with us while they were alive."

And for the first time, Anya recognized he said the exact same thing that he thought. Most of the time, he was always doing two different things, probably because he was a spy. But, if he was doing both at the same time, it meant it was something that she should pay attention to. She nodded up at her Papa, and her Papa continued to give her a sad smile.

It only took a few minutes for the casket to be placed down into the hole, and for the earth to begin to be placed over it. After a moment, most of the military people in blue began to go away, while the people in black gathered around together. As the crowd continued to gather around in a group, Anya followed along with Twilight, her hand held in his, as they walked up to an old man who was standing in the middle of the crowd.

"Ah, hello," Both Yor and the man looked over at Papa when he spoke up, sticking his hand out to shake the older man's hand, "I'm Doctor Forger. Your wife was my supervisor for my time here in East City."

"Oh," the older man nodded at that, "Thank you for coming," he then looked down, "Oh, is this Anya? Marsha did say something about a new doctor with a sweet daughter."

The older man then looked up, and looked in Lloyd's eyes. He shook his head, and thought, 'I suppose I am lucky, I got to have a full life with Marsha and our children. She said he lost his wife when he and his daughter are so young...I'd hate to think about not having my memories with her to get me by.'

"Mrs. Straus was a really nice lady," Anya nodded, "She was really nice, and said nice things to me when I was sad about Mama," she added, before finishing with, "I'm really sorry you're feeling sad right now."

"...Thank you Anya," the older man sighed, tears threatening to well up again, 'What a sweet child.'

'Excellent Anya,' Papa looked around, taking in the sights, 'We can thank him for all his wife did, and say goodbye. We need to start getting ready to go to Central.'

"You're welcome Mr. Strauss," Anya then reached up her hand, and grabbed the older man's leg, holding it for a second, "Thank you for your wife being so nice. You must be really nice too."

'Excellent Anya,' Twilight thought, and Anya almost felt like smirking.

She was really good at this when she had Papa for instructions.

Anya and Papa spent a few more minutes with Mr. Strauss, before they finally headed back down the hill that the funeral they had just finished up. Lloyd was holding her hand, and then looked out into the road, 'She did really well with this, before we head to Central, why don't we go have something nice to eat?' And then Anya shouted the first thing that popped into her head, a tasty treat she had heard about in the lab but never really had.

"Ice Cream!" Anya shouted excitedly, before covering her mouth with her hands. Her father looked down at her, and blinked and then looked up, before falling down a bit with a sigh.

'Thank God we are already outside the cemetery,' Papa was relived, and most of the possible anger had disappated, "Sure, that sounds like it might be a fun time," he said to her, causing Anya to smile, 'Sometimes, it's like she is able to read my mind.'

"Now," Papa looked out onto the road, "I wonder..."

'I don't know where an ice cream shop is...' Papa began to have sweat drip down his head, a slight panic taking over him, 'This may be harder th-'

"Dr. Forger, were you here for the funeral too."

Anya turned around, as did Papa, and standing, right at the edge of the gate they had just left, was Ms. Yor. The weird lady that Anya had read the mind of while she had walked by when she had gone to the office and met Mrs. Strauss and Edward.

'I really hope no one sees the blood from last night on my socks,' she had thought, 'I didn't have enough time to change them. Nobody seems to notice. But that little girl might see it, and it might scare her! I don't want to scare a cute little girl. GAH!'

Anya thought she was silly. But she was nice too, since she seemed to want to be nice to Anya herself, and that was always good.

"Oh, Ms. Briar. Yes, I was, I only knew Lieutenant Strauss for a short time, but she was kind to my daughter Anya and I, and I wanted to make sure we paid respects to her," Papa said, looking Yor in the face for a moment, his mind remembering everything that happened the day before, and for the first time in a while, giving Anya a bunch of cool things to see.

Like Alchemy.

And big Kicks.

And Giant Muscle men.

'It is still surprising how strong her kick was,' Papa considered, rubbing his chin a bit, as he thought back to her kick. Anya saw Yor Briar land a kick directly into the stomach of the tall bad guy and send him flying.

'COOOOLLLLLLL,' Anya thought, her hands still luckily around her mouth, and thus keeping her from being too open about her opinion of what Yor just did, 'She's super strong.'

"It is good to see you are in good health," Papa tipped his hat to Yor, who nodded back, "I take it you experienced no damage from the fight with Scar yesterday?"

"No," Yor Briar said, and then slowly looked at the ground, away from Papa's eyes as she answered his question, "I was fine. The only thing hurt were my shoes."

'I nearly died,' Anya then saw Papa, with sparkles in his eyes, suddenly grab, up Yor, and twirl her away from Scar, 'If he hadn't saved me, Scar would have killed me.'

'Wow! Papa's cool too,' Anya thought.

"I'm glad to hear that," Papa continued, smiled, "I'm also very glad that the Colonel and the rest of the officer corps arrived when they did," he rubbed the back of his head, "I'm not sure how we would have been able to get Edward out of there in one piece, especially when he was as depressed as he was when we got there."

'If I wasn't able to get to the pistol Yor gave me in time, I would have had to pull out by secondary derringer in my left leg pocket,' Twilight considered, and Anya suddenly saw a diagram of the small one shot pistol beneath his leg, 'Of course, that's not standard issue. Any use of the smoke bomb I hide in my false tooth,' another diagram appeared in Anya's head, at one of the back top teeth that suddenly popped open, 'would have almost certainly blown my cover as a spy.'

'I would have had to hope that Lloyd would be able to get the pistol and not notice the rock I'd hit Scar with,' and Anya suddenly saw a pebble being tossed with her toes, and Anya's eyes widened, 'but if he failed, I would have had to go behind, and likely aim at the right temple,' and then Anya's eyes widened further, as she saw that strike, and then the image of Scar's eyes popping out in eruptions of blood, 'But if I did, they might realize that I'm an assassin.'

'AN ASSASSIN!'

'...'

'What's that?' the scientists always thought about spys, but they didn't ever think about assassins, 'it sounds cool though.'

She had only a radio to grant relief to her boredom. Perhaps this lady would sate her appetite for excitement.

"I am glad to hear you are doing well as well," Yor bowed her head slightly, "I need to thank you for saving my life. Scar nearly killed me yesterday, and had you not pulled me away, he would have used that power on me, and I would likely be in that funeral service as well."

"It was no trouble," Papa waved his hand, "Besides, you saved my life before that," he smiled at her, "I also suppose I should use this opportunity to say goodbye. Anya and I will be leaving for Central tomorrow to start getting ready for her schooling next year."

"Oh, well then it's good I caught you to say goodbye."

'He's leaving,' Yor seemed to get really sad at that, and then looked at the ground, 'I just met him. He seemed like he'd be a good connection to make, but I guess this is just going to get harder and harder.'

"Ms. Yor," Anya spoke up. She remembered Papa thinking in frustration about lacking a wife for his family appearance, and how it was going to make his mission harder. And this Lady did seem like she might be a good choice, since she was nice. Plus she had a cool job and big kicks, so if anyone could be a good Mama, it might be her, "We were going to go get ice cream before we go, but Papa doesn't know where ice cream is," she then looked up at the tall woman with her biggest, softest eyes, "Do you know where ice cream is?"

'Anya,' Twilight looked down, and then looked at Yor's hand, and recited Yor's history that he had had Franky give to him after they had met, 'Yor Briar, Civil Servant. Younger Brother, but only known family. No marriage history,' he then went into what he knew about her, 'Strong for an office woman. Brave,' he then looked at Yor's face as she looked away, 'Naturally good looking, likely able to pull off elegance if required for a social event,' he then thought about the times that Anya had heard him complain about the need for a wife to get into Selim Bradley's academic program, 'Did Anya just help start my mission?'

"Yes," Yor said suddenly, and Anya felt a smirk cross her lips, "There is a small one three blocks down, take a left, and it should be on the right side."

"Well, that sounds nice," Papa smiled, before thinking, 'Okay, time to pull some spy charm,' and then sticking out his hand to offer to it to Yor, "Would you like to join us Ms. Briar."

"What?" Yor looked down at the hand calmly, while inwardly, Anya could hear Yor screaming slightly, 'Is he asking me on a date!? I've never been on a date!?'

"I insist," Lloyd smiled at her, "Afterall, you saved my life. The least I can do is take you for some ice cream."

"I...I...," Yor's blush was now emerging around her nose, "You saved my life as well, there is no need for you to pay for any ice cream for me."

"There's no need to worry," Papa pushed just a little further, "You gave me directions, I give you ice cream. You saved my life, I saved yours. I give you something, and then you give me something," Papa's mind blanked, and an image of Edward Elric suddenly appeared in his head, "I guess you could call it the Law for Equivalent Exchange."

The three of them, Anya, Papa and Yor, were seated outside the ice cream shop at a small round café table. Anya had two scoops of peanut ice cream in a small bowl, as Lloyd had decided that he didn't trust her to have a cone, while Yor had a small cup of strawberry sherbet, and Lloyd himself had a cup of vanilla. For a few moments, the three of them just sat their, eating their ice cream. At one point, an older couple passed by the shop, and the old lady looked over at them.

'Ah, the days of a youthful family,' she smiled and continued to walk on, 'They should cherish these days while the last.'

"I hope it wasn't too sad being at the funeral," Yor said while looking up from her sherbet. She was a remarkably clean eater, and was in complete control of herself. She had been looking down sadly at the girl.

"...," Anya thought, and then remembering her meeting with Mrs. Strauss those days earlier, said, "I am sad Mrs. Strauss is gone. And when I'm sad about Mrs. Strauss being gone, I get sad about Momma being gone too."

"Your moth-," Yor suddenly shot up, looking him in the eye, "Oh goodness, I had no idea you lost your wife Dr. Forger."

'Anya, I'm not sure whether to berate or kiss you,' Papa thought, almost finishing his own small treat up, 'Anyway, show time.'

"Natasha died about a year ago," he shook his head, "I was just getting my certification to work with the government as a military doctor, and it was challenging," he then looked out, forlorn, "Raising a daughter as a single parent. But Anya and I got through it."

"That's very admirable Dr. Forger," Yor said aloud, 'Ah, he's such a good man. Caring for his daughter even though he lost his wife.'

"Please call me Lloyd," Papa waved his hand to the side, and Anya could actually see Yor's face becoming a color closer to her sherbet.

"Of course, Lloyd," she said aloud, and nodded. Anya grabbed another spoon full of the treat, and aimed it at her mouth, but then, by being so focused on the blush on Yor's face, she missed, and accidently slammed it into the side of her mouth. She let out a small gasp, and then both Yor and Lloyd's attention was dragged to the young girl.

'Darn it Anya, I was really-,' Papa's thoughts were instantly cut off when suddenly, Yor reached out, and with one of the cloth napkins left on the table, wiped around Anya's lips, clearing away the spill.

'This is much easier than clearing up the blood from clothes,' She thought, and suddenly Anya's eyes widened.

'Blood,' Maybe this was going to be a worse idea than she thought.

"You seem good with children," Papa interjected, bringing Yor's attention to him again, "Do you work with children often?"

"No," Yor then looked away, her blush growing a bit larger, "I actually don't work people very often at all beyond my usual coworkers," she looked back towards the cemetery, "The only reason I was working at the hospital was because I'd realized I don't have many connections with other people in my life," she thought of a tall man with dark skin and red eyes, "I felt that maybe I wasn't appreciating life enough, so I thought it would be good to work with other people to push myself."

Papa nodded, 'She doesn't have many connections,' then he looked back down at Anya, 'And she is more than willing to spend time with Anya,' he then looked back at her, 'And she is willing to try something new by hanging out with people she wouldn't before,' he then stopped, and considered the whole of the thing, 'Oh what the hell, if she says no, I'm leaving for Central tomorrow, and start over there.'

"Yor," he reached over, and put his hand near hers, "I was actually planning on leaving the military when my wife died. It wasn't ever my dream to join the military," he then looked her in the eye, "However, my wife had a dream for our daughter. She had always loved Central City, and she had been looking at programs. And then she found out that Selim Bradley was the same age as Anya."

Yor nodded, though she asked herself, 'Where is he going with this?'

"So, I have continued to work with the military, so I can be there for Anya in Central while she works in the school," he continued, and Anya continued to listen for when it would be best for her to inter into the conversation, and help move it all forward, "It looks like she is ready to take the test," Anya felt sweat drop at the back of her head from the obvious lie, "But there is a problem. The program needs both a father and a mother. And with my wife dead, we may not be able to fulfil her dream for my daughter."

"I am deeply sorry to hear that," she said, and then thought, 'What a terrible tragedy. Losing a wife, and not being able to fulfil her las wish.'

"I was wondering," Papa sighed, and then looked Yor in the face, "If you would be willing to be Anya's mother."

"...what?"

Papa held his hands up defensively, quick to try and keep any kind of outburst down, "Nothing physical would be required of you," he looked, and saw her blush cover the entire top half of her face, "All you would have to do, would be live in the same building with Anya and I for a year or so in Central," he waved his hand quickly, "We could have different rooms, different sleeping arrangements, if you need to come back to East City, I can pay for it."

"Why would you think of me for this?" Yor's voice shook as she spoke up.

'I see she isn't saying no,' Papa seemed a bit pleased inwardly, 'Need to keep pressing...and this part's pretty honest.'

"Well, you are the woman that just saved my life," Yor looked at him, and then her mouth closed and she nodded.

'And...I suppose he saved my life,' Anya still had to keep waiting. She had to wait for the right moment.

"I suppose that makes sense," Yor said aloud, "But, I'm not a very...social person. What if we end up not liking this?"

"Then you and I can get a divorce," Twilight said quickly, 'need to offer her a way out of the relationship so it doesn't seem like a trap, "If you don't like me, or just don't like being a spouse, we can divorce after Anya has become a student for such a long period that they won't try and remove her for that. We only need to be a family for one year."

"One year," Yor said aloud, "With two people I barely know for a whole year."

"You did say you were trying to make more connections," Papa added, trying to make one last push, 'Come on, we're almost there. Get this, and Operation: STRIX will have completed the first phase,' he then spoke aloud again, "With Lieutenant Strauss's death, I suppose I just am more willing to try and live life out with as few inhibitions as possible. Enjoy the air in my lungs as long as I have it."

'This would be an chance to make more connections,' Yor considered, again, her mind returning to a large green garden, with a pretty house, and a dark skinned man looking at her with sad eyes. She then looked back at Papa, 'And, he is a nice man. And he is trying to live up to his dead wife's last wish. He doesn't seem like a scumbag liar at all. And it is only for a year, so if I don't like it, I can stop,' she then looked over at Anya, 'But...could I really be a mother. I don't even remember my own, and now I'm taking over that position for this little girl...'

"So you might be my new Mama?" Anya finally asked, connecting her eyes with Yor. The tall woman seemed a bit off guard, and then stammered for a moment.

"Well...maybe...I do-"

"I'd think you'd be a great Mama," Anya stated.

'...' Yor then looked back at Lloyd.

"Okay, I will marry you," she then held up her hands, while turning her head away while blushing, "As long as we understand we can drop it if we need to."

"Whatever you need to be comfortable," Lloyd nodded, and then placed his hand on Yor's. She smiled, while also turning her face slightly away from him, clearly still getting used to the idea of being married. He inwardly smriked, as Anya read his next thought.

'Operation: STRIX is a-'