"Alright, everyone together!" Ed called, bringing the crowd of friends and family together. "One... two... three, cheese!"

The bulb flashed and we all relaxed, talking together again as we waited for the picture to develop.

"It's been forever since I saw you! Your stomach was about three times as big then!" Ed said to me.

"I was pregnant. And it's your damn fault you haven't seen me, or any of us for that matter. Running off west for two years like that," I pouted in mock anger. "At least you and Winry quit pretending there wasn't anything between you two. And you already have kids. You work fast."

Their two babies, James and Sara, squirmed at their mentioning in their mother's arms before she cooed them back to stillness. I couldn't get Jess to stop fawning over them for nearly two hours when we'd first got here. And admittedly I fawned a little too. Hey, they're my best friends' babies, how could I not fawn?

"You're one to talk, didn't you get knocked up the day you and Drake got together?" Ed bluntly asked.

"No! It was like a week after that..." I mumbled, feeling my cheeks flush.

"I'm just kidding around, Mizore. Geez, can't you take a joke?"

"Are you upsetting my girl?" Jess asked, wrapping an arm around me and preparing to make an ass of herself. Some people never change.

"No, we're fine," I assured. "Where's Liv?"

"She's playing with Den over there," she replied, pointing to where her daughter and the family dog were rolling around with each other. "She really loves that dog. Maybe we should get one."

"You're already a bitch in heat, why would we need another one?" I joked, then gave her a quick kiss.

"Quit staring, Pipsqueak," Jess said, catching Ed watching us. I'm still not sure if it's because he's not used to girls together or if he's just a horny guy. Frankly, though, I don't care.

"Dammit, will you ever let that go?" he asked.

"Hell no, Pipsqueak. If Drake isn't here to say it, then I should do it."

"You're an idiot," I told her. "But I love you. So I'm stuck with you."

I felt a tugging at my pants. I looked down to see my son grasping at me.

"Mommy, up!" he demanded.

I complied, kneeling down and picking him up. I held him close to my chest and gave him the attention he wanted.

"Little Drake, did you miss your Mommy?" I cooed as he giggled.

"You know, I've always wondered, how do you tell them apart?" Ed asked, smiling at the display of affection I gave my son. He looked to Drake's twin sister, Annie, who was sitting nearby and playing with a flower she'd torn from the ground. There was little difference between the two at this age.

"A mother knows," I claimed.

"Bull."

"Okay, okay, I read the Dragon's Pulse. Everyone's is different, even between twins. Apparently." I watched my daughter drop the flower and try to steal a bottle from the baby bag Winry left on the ground in her reach and decided it was time to feed them. "Looks like Annie's hungry. Drake probably is too; could you feed them?"

"Sure," Jess said, taking my son and getting my daughter and somehow managing to hold her own daughter as well as she brought them inside to eat.

"Okay, I can't hold it back anymore," Winry excitedly squealed. "I have to tell someone, but don't spread this because we're not sure."

"Sure of what? Wait, you mean you're..."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Congratulations!" I said, hugging my blonde friends.

"Thanks, but it's still too early to be sure," Ed told me.

"Oh, I'm sure you are, though. You've got some potent stuff there, Pipsqueak."

"Putting aside my virility, I must say YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A RIGHT TO CALL ME PIPSQUEAK! I'M TALLER THAN YOU!"

"You weren't when we met."

"Shut up," he stubbornly muttered.

"It's easy to see why Drake liked you; you're just like him."

"I'm nowhere near that stupid," he grumbled.

"Yeah, you are," Winry assured him, seeing reason and agreeing with me.

"Well I should let you see your brother and May. And tell them I said congratulations on their engagement."

"Will do."

Everyone continued talking and laughing and having fun as we waited. When the picture was finally ready, we all gathered in to see. We all looked like idiots, eyes half-closed and clothes dirty and babies squirming. It couldn't be any better.

#~#~#

We decided to stay in Resembool for a little while. I want to move out here, but we may need to build a house; there aren't many for sale. So I'll be looking for a nice plot to raise the kids on. But that's not why I can't sleep. It's that time of the year again. The anniversary of the Promised Day. It hits the whole country pretty hard, but it's hidden with a festival celebrating our victory and honoring the fallen. I just can't be a part of it. Too painful.

I sat by the window, staring out into the calm night. Apparently Drake liked to do this whenever life seemed too much. I guess he did it every night. Life sucked for him. He had to grow up years before he should have. He never had a childhood and never got to live out his life. He only had a handful of good things in his life, certainly not the least of which being me and Jess.

I pulled a letter from my bag, looking at the faded script on the envelope. In a shaky, uneven hand it bore my name, Mizore. I ran a finger over the darkened paper, tracing the ink. Old Van Hohenheim gave me this just before he went off to die with his wife. He also gave one to Jess, and we each got a few meant for our children. I starting crying the very second I knew that these were his last words to me and that I'd always be able to keeo them by my heart.

I opened the weathered envelope again and pulled the old note out, holding it to my heart for moment before reading it.

"Sorry for the crappy penmanship, but automail makes this really hard. And I only just learn to write about five minutes before I got to work on this. But that's not why I wrote this.

Mizore, you're one of the best things to ever happen to me. The only other person in the world I love as much as you is Jess. You know I'd do anything for either of you, even give my life. And if you're reading this, I guess that's just what I did.

But let's avoid that for now. No, first I just want to say everything I never got to say. First, I have to say again, I love you. I love you more than you can know, more than life itself. Even before we were together, you were my sole reason to get up in the morning, the only purpose my life had. As long as I could make you happy, I couldn't care less about myself. That's why I set you up with Jess, even though I cared for you both and left myself out in the cold.

Second, I know we've all lived toughed lives, you, me, and even Jess. We were all tortured by Truth and by Fate until it seemed so much easier to just break. But I wouldn't change any part of my past. Everything I did, every mistake, every stupid action, every word I spoke all led to me becoming who I was. More than that, all those things led me down the path I took that brought me to you. I'd gladly bear all the hell I'd gone through to be with you. I'd even double it, or triple it, or even more. I hope you'd say the same, that you'd endure everything and more for me and Jess. We went through Hell, but we found each other at the opposite end. I'd say that's worth it.

Third, even though I'll never meet them, I love our kids just as much as I do you. Whether they're tall or short, strong or weak, smart or like Jess, I love them. So please don't think I did what I did to run away from you and our family. I wanted more than anything to be a dad for them like we never had. I wanted to be there and do all the dad things for them, good and bad. I wanted all those moments whether they were precious or heartwrenching. Tell them what you will about me, but let them know that I love them.

Fourth, it's time to say the bad stuff. From the very beginning I was certain I wasn't going to make it out. I planned for every eventuality, but I just never thought I'd be able survive. It just wasn't in my cards. I was a tragic hero, or at least that's how I'll be remembered. And tragedies always end with the hero's death. If there was any other way to save everyone I would've taken it, I swear, but I just couldn't see it. I just want you to know that I did this for you, and Jess, and everyone else. Live your life to fullest and make sure they do the same; do that and my sacrifice won't be in vain.

Finally, never stop fighting. I know how terrible it must be with me gone - for God's sake I felt like my soul was shredded just seeing you with Jess - but you can't stop fighting. You have so many people depending on you, including our own children. I wouldn't ever think you'd quit and do anything like that, but if you do get lonely and times are hard, there are plenty of people to rely on. You've got Winry and Pipsqueak and Al and you definitely have Jess. And even though I'm gone, I'll always be with you.

Mizore, I love you, and I love Jess, and I love our children. I wish I could spend more time with you, live our lives, watch our kids grow up, turn into lovable grandparents. I want all of that and more, but I sacrifice all of it so that you can have it. Someday I hope we meet again, in Heaven or Hell or some other life in another world, but I hope to hell you lived this life to the fullest before we do.

I love you. Goodbye.
Drake."

I laid the page down and wiped my eyes.

"I miss you so much. I almost can't wait for the day we get to be together again."

Folding the paper back up, I slipped it back in the envelope and put it in my bag before lying down and finally getting some sleep.

#~#~#

And that's the end. But I've been considering a sequel series that follows the next generation of alchemists. Let me know what you think and I'll do my best.