Warrant Officer Matthew Page knocked timidly at the door to the great house a few hours after the Investigations team had been so unceremoniously thrown out. He had been absolutely accosted down at the gate to the drive with the rest of his unit while they were on guard duty. Now he was the unfortunate soldier sent to awaken an irate Lieutenant General to inform him that a civilian woman was clamoring for access to the house.

He heard a great deal of moving around inside the house before the Lieutenant General finally answered the door. Grumman waited for his message without a word of greeting.

"Beg your pardon, sir, but there's a woman waiting at the gate to be let in. She says that she has to see Colonel Mustang, sir." The warrant officer was almost cowering on the front step.

When he glanced at Grumman's face, he was met with a pair of angrily flashing glasses. "You can tell her that the Colonel is not interested in seeing her. He is trying to sleep and it would be better for all concerned if she did not contact him again."

A look of utter confusion was quickly replaced by one of dawning comprehension on the young man's face. "Oh! Sir, I don't think I made the message clear. You see…"

-----

Ten minutes later, very tired Roy was to be found standing in the front hall being verbally assaulted by the formidable woman that had so frightened the warrant officer. Behind him, Grumman was watching the exchange with the air of someone watching a particularly amusing, one-sided sports match.

"I turn up at your apartment to find that you're not there, even though you swore you'd be there. And then some man walks up and tells me where you are. Imagine coming to find that your little brother, who is supposed to watch your son for the weekend, is staying at his superior's house because his l-i-f-e has been t-h-r-e-a-t-e-n-e-d! So I came here to get you to explain why you didn't think that it was important for me to know about this, and a bunch of guards tell me that, no I can't see my baby brother because he's taking a nap after a nice long night of dancing and fighting off people trying to k-i-l-l him!" The black-haired woman hissed angrily, her hands clapped tightly over her son's ears.

The five-year old strained to remove his mother's hands as his uncle stared in shock. "I… I know I should have told you, but it completely slipped my mind that I was babysitting Michael. I have had people trying to k-i-l-l me, Gabby. It's a little distracting! And I can't watch the squirt now, I'm not going to get to go back to my apartment for a few days now, and we don't know what'll happen in the next few days!" Roy spluttered, his voice rising as he wavered between irritation and embarrassment at forgetting his promise.

"The guards told me that that was just a precaution.. And you promised you'd watch him. Can't you just take him back to you place now? Come on, Roy. You know-" She stopped short when she saw Riza walking down the stairs looking confusedly down at the family. She looked from the blonde to her brother and back again irritatedly, clearly believing that Riza was yet another fling that Roy had somehow gotten into his superior's house. She was preparing another verbal attack when Roy hurried to introduce them.

"Gabby, this is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. She's my aide and one of the other people involved in this mess. Riza, this is my eldest sister, Gabrielle, we call her Gabby, and her son, Michael. I was supposed to watch him this weekend."

The older woman's face changed quickly to surprise and then absolute glee as Riza took in the situation. "You're Lieutenant Hawkeye?!? Oh, Roy's told us so much about you. Michael, this is Miss Hawkeye from Uncle Roy's stories! Say hello."

Despite his sister's sudden change in demeanor, Roy continued in his worrying. He couldn't very well ask Grumman to let him babysit while he was a guest, but there was no way Riza would let him leave before Investigations was reasonably sure that there wasn't still a threat. He turned his attention to his nephew, who was by then staring at one of his favorite characters in his uncle's stories suddenly made flesh and blood.

Riza smiled at the child, who quickly looked away, before turning to Roy. "What's the problem? I'm sure Grandfather wouldn't mind if Michael stayed for the weekend."

"Wait. Don't you need to ask your superior officer? Isn't this his house?" Gabby seemed to have snapped out of her slightly detached, thrilled state in time to hear this.

She was supremely confused when the old man beyond her brother laughed quietly. "That's me, Miss. I'm Lieutenant General Grumman, Elizabeth's grandfather, and we would all be delighted to have young Michael stay with us for the weekend."

Seeing his sister's confused look, Roy silently pointed to Riza and mouthed "Elizabeth" to explain. She blinked briefly before nodding. "Thank you so much, sir. I have to run, thanks Roy! It was very nice to meet you, Miss Hawkeye." She set her son's bag down with a thud next to him before kneeling to look at him. "Be good for Uncle Roy. I love you, ok? Have fun."

The little boy grabbed the hem of Gabby's skirt in panic as she rose. It didn't take much for Riza to see that he didn't want his mother to leave. Rather than wait for the whole painful scene to play itself out, she walked over to where the pair stood and sat gingerly down on the floor next to Michael.

"Michael, do you like dogs?" She placed a hand on his back and patted him soothingly to get his attention. The little boy looked up and nodded tearfully, still clutching the skirt. "I have a dog named Hayate. Has your Uncle Roy ever told you about him?"

Michael's eyes widened and he loosened his grip a little. "Black Hayate's here too? Are Havoc and Breda an' Furey an' Ed an' Al here?"

"No, but I'm sure they'll come visit while you're here if you want to meet them. Do you want to meet Black Hayate now?"

The child clapped excitedly and nodded. "Yes, please!" He hugged his mother's legs briefly. "Bye, Momma! I'm gonna go meet Black Hayate!"

"Why don't you go over and wait by that door? I'll be over in a minute." Riza waved the little boy over to the door to her grandfather's office before putting a hand out for balance so she could stand up. To her great surprise, Roy was there in an instant to pull her to her feet despite her half-hearted protests.

Gabby glanced curiously at the couple as her son skittered across the room. Roy caught her look and smiled. "She'd never admit it to you, but she's hurt. She shouldn't have even come downstairs." He added with a hint of reproach. Riza rolled her eyes. She wasn't that hurt and his scolding had gotten old long ago. As if he hesitated before running into danger. "Anyway, we'll take care of Michael, so enjoy your vacation."

"Thank you both. I really appreciate it." Gabby replied with a little lingering uncertainty. She turned to leave, but paused with her hand on the door. She glanced back to where Roy stood with his arm around his aide's waist, curiosity (and perhaps hope) getting the best of her. "Umm… I feel silly asking, but… are you two…?"

She'd petered out at the end of her question, but Roy got the gist. "Yeah, yeah, Gabby. Now go on your vacation with your poor husband before your son changes his mind about staying."

A loud peal of laughter reached them as Grumman opened the door to his study to let Hayate bound out to greet Michael. Gabrielle smiled. "I don't think there's much of a chance of that. Thanks again."

When she returned to the city, Gabby spent two hours on a pay phone confirming her mother's suspicions about her youngest son's aide and hoping that she had the patience to stay with him.

While his mother was on the phone in the city, Michael was busily wrestling with Black Hayate on the floor of Grumman's study.

Mayaris had been consulted, and she and Riza were upstairs putting blankets on the couch outside Roy's room for his nephew. When they'd finished, Mayaris ordered Riza to stay there while she sent Roy and Michael upstairs and brought them some lunch. The sniper obeyed, though reluctantly, and sat down on the makeshift bed.

"Miss Riza! Is it true you saved my uncle's life?" Michael scampered into the room as he shouted the question.

The blonde glanced over the expectant little boy's head to look at his uncle. "Which time?" She asked dryly.

"Rain, Scar, Useless." Roy replied, cringing a little at the last word. Black Hayate barked from behind him, giving Roy the distinct sense that the dog was laughing at him.

Riza smiled. "Yes, it is true. Your uncle got a little carried away that time. What did he tell you?" The five year-old's face lit up and he clambered onto the couch next to Riza. Roy dropped down next to him as Black Hayate shot into the room and leapt up onto his mistress' lap.

As the boy enthusiastically recounted the story, Riza nodded and filled in the gaps, carefully giving every appearance of giving him her full attention. Roy watched as they continued their conversation, noticing for the first time how good Riza was with kids. Looking back, he was surprised that he hadn't realized it sooner. He guessed on some level he had. He'd always had her deal with kids at crime scenes. She'd be a great mother if she ever had children.

That train of thought quickly brought him screeching to a halt as he caught himself contemplating the future and some very surprising, initially frightening possibilities. What was even more frightening to his less-than-monogamous side was the fact that the prospect of his future kids – Riza's kids – wasn't as terrifying as it would have been to him years ago.

The alchemist was jerked from his thoughts when Mayaris entered with their lunches. He smiled when he realized that his nephew hadn't stopped speaking for more than a second or two at the interruption. No matter what happened in the more distant future, this weekend was going to be a breeze.

Roy was right, the weekend went well with visits from his subordinates and the combination of his relationship with his nephew and Riza's innate skill with children. Though any more romantic plans he might have had were put on hold, he had to admit, a week later, when he and Riza were returning to their respective homes, he'd enjoyed babysitting his nephew with Riza.

Carol was released from the hospital the same day that the others left Grumman's house. Riza was overjoyed and rushed to help her friend move back into her now restored home. Everything seemed to be going well in the three weeks after the final battle.

But then Roy and Riza were summoned to Central for a final debriefing on the events. Everything continued as usual during their stay. They learned that the mercenaries had been contracted by someone else specifically to go after the couple, but there were no clues as to who this might be and Investigations doubted that they'd find anything else. It was worrisome, but there had been no more attacks and they'd all gotten back to their normal lives. Beyond that, they learned very little, but that one fact was more than enough to stir up trouble.

It wasn't until the train ride back to Eastern that Roy asked his girlfriend why she'd been so quiet since the debriefing. Riza brushed it off and they presently fell asleep, her head resting Roy's chest.

The train rattled on as they slept. The car was nearly empty and quiet when Riza woke up. She tried to sit up, but found that Roy's arm was around her shoulders, holding her in place. Resigned to her current, not uncomfortable, position, she thought back to his question earlier.

She'd been worrying about what might happen next time someone wanted to hurt them. If they knew anything about them, it would be a simple thing to use one of them against the other. The more she thought about it, the clearer it seemed: being together only made things more dangerous for them. And she knew that they couldn't risk that. As she came to this realization, her eyes filled with tears.

Roy awoke to the feeling of a small patch of his shirt steadily becoming wetter and wetter. Looking down, he saw the source of the damp. "Riza, what's wrong? What is it?"

She pulled away, furiously trying to dry her tears. "We can't do this, Roy. It's too dangerous." She asserted in a slightly trembling voice.

A frown creased the colonel's face. "What do you mean? It's legal. The military can't hurt us just because we love each other, Riza." He reached out to pull her into a hug, but she shook her head.

"They can't, but others can. They can use us against each other. We can't risk it. We can't risk your goals."

"Riza, just because we break up, doesn't mean we wouldn't feel the same way. They could still use us against each other just as easily." He tried to reason with her gently, taking her hand despite her protests. A flicker of doubt crossed his face. "You do still want to be together, don't you?"

The blonde gasped a little. "Of course I do! But…" Her voice broke, and she paused to regain some semblance of composure. "But it will be less obvious if we're not together. We just can't show how we feel. It's safer that way."

Deep, deep down, he knew she was right. And she could tell he knew. He looked solemnly over at her, a pained expression visible in his eyes between rapid blinks. She slid her hand from his as he nodded silently. They lapsed into silence for a long moment. Then he spoke, his voice rough from holding back his emotion. "We will make it safe, Riza. I promise.

"I know, sir" She murmured quietly as she took out one of her guns and began to clean it. She had to stop after a moment. Tears wouldn't help keep her weapon in good condition.

-----

Several years after that terrible train ride, it was finally safe. Safe enough for a day they'd all hoped, in the back of their minds, to see.

Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye were getting married.

The bride and groom were happy beyond expression, not that they'd ever really needed words to communicate, and their cheer seemed contagious. Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Furey were cheerfully reassuring Roy that he was not dreaming while Gracia Hughes, Lyn, Carol, Roy's sisters, and Rebecca, another friend, were helping Riza get ready. She would have been happier with a little less fuss, but she knew she was lucky to have so many friends that cared. Elysia was happily getting Michael and herself in the way by asking people to admire her dress.

Lieutenant General Grumman left the hubbub inside and stepped outdoors to survey the arrangement of chairs on the lawn. He was thrilled that his granddaughter was finally getting married to Mustang, and everything seemed to be going well, except for the threatening clouds that bespoke a summer storm approaching the house. Grumman sighed. They weren't the only clouds hanging over this wedding. Maes Hughes was gone, and his absence was felt keenly by everyone who'd known him. But they were all pushing their grief to the side as they prepared; no one uttered the two words that might bring this illusion of perfection crashing down around their ears. It was like everyone was carefully ignoring some large, dangerous animal crouching in their midst. Like everyone else, Grumman brushed the sad thoughts from his mind impatiently as he turned to rescue the caterers from Mayaris.

Twenty minutes later, the guests were seated outside. Rain began falling softly at first, but it quickly increased to a torrential downpour. The guests were sent scrambling to get inside, some holding bags or jackets over their heads to ward off some of the water.

Claps of thunder and the brilliant flash of lightning filled the air above the wedding. Inside, the guests bemoanied the unfortunate weather. Finally, Gracia went to find Riza to ask what they should do.

When she reached the room Riza had been waiting in, she found the door ajar. Inside, the bride and groom were conferring in low voices. Knocking gently, Gracia entered the room and Elysia followed in her wake.

"I'm sorry about the weather. What would you like me to have the guests do?" She asked, joining them at the window.

They looked out the window, as though hoping that the rain might have stopped, before Riza answered. "They'll all fit in the front hall. We can have the wedding in there." Gracia nodded, smiling understandingly.

As she walked to the door, Roy turned to his fiancé. "It would rain on our wedding day." He groaned quietly, making his displeasure clear.

"Are you afraid of lightning, Uncle Roy?" Elysia had stopped in the doorway when she'd heard his tone of voice.

"No, I just don't like rain very much, Elysia."

The little girl grinned up at him knowingly. "It's ok. I used to be too. But then Mommy told me what lightning really is."

"What is it?" Roy asked indulgently. Anything to keep Maes' daughter happy and keep his mind off the rain.

"It's Daddy taking pictures of us!" she quipped, before running down the hall after her mother. She left a stunned bride and groom staring after her for a minute. Then Riza began laughing. She glanced at Roy, tears of mingled sorrow and joy sitting unshed in her eyes. He looked over at her, similar tears already halfway down his face. Someone had finally voiced the thought that had been resounding in everyone's mind by bringing up Hughes. But Elysia had done even more than that. She'd brought him to the wedding so, at least for Roy and Riza, everything was perfect.

Both laughed while Riza wiped their tears away. "It shouldn't be raining inside on our wedding day." She scolded. "Let's go, we have a wedding to go to."

The couple walked out of the room arm in arm, but stopped in the doorway. They glanced back at the room and Roy raised a hand to wave at the window.

They both could have sworn that the next flash of lightning was a little brighter than the others were.

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Thank you all so much for your support of this story. You actually got to read my "sad ending" and the "happy ending", since I kind of put them together. I hope you've enjoyed it half as much as I have! You're all amazing!