Here it is! The final installment! I hope you all like it! I hope it fulfills all the everything, the way a good ending should!

We were two alone,

Here in this world together.

But some understand.

"Happy birthday, big little brother!"

"Thank you, Elysia. I really liked your present. And the box was pretty."

"Yay!" The little girl threw her hands in the air and jumped up and down, beaming. "I made it all by myself!"

Her face became adorably sincere. "But take care of Miss Mary, 'kay? She's my favourite dolly."

"I will!" said Alphonse. "I'll be very careful with her."

"Okey-dokey! Now come in 'n' play tea party with me and mommy! And daddy!"

"Okay, Elysia honey, but let them have dinner first," said Gracia with a gentle laugh.

"Oh, I'm good," Alphonse interjected quickly. "I don't need anything to eat, but I'll be happy to sit with you."

"Okay then." Gracia stepped away from the doorway and motioned the two newcomers inside. "But at least take something back for your brother."

"Of course."

Alphonse stepped delicately around the woman, leaving Elysia in full view of her doting father.

"Daddy!" she squealed, reaching up towards her father's face and giggling.

"Elysia!" Maes bent over onto his knees and she jumped into his arms with a laugh. "Hello, my little angel! Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah! Me and mommy made cupcakes! Pink ones! With flowers!"

"Are there any left for me?"

"Yeah! Yeah! I saved some for you, daddy! Big little brother can have one too!"

Gracia looked up at the sky and frowned, tapping her husband on the shoulder. "Come on inside, Maes. Looks like it's going to rain."

"What? Really? On a day like this? It's Al's birthday, for Pete's sake," Maes said, bundling the little girl at his feet into his arms and walking inside. "Rain's a bummer. I hope it doesn't rain on my birthday…"

"Just come in; I'll get dinner started early."

"Can I…?" Maes began, hoisting Elysia onto his shoulders and parading her past Alphonse and down the corridor.

"Yes, you can play with Elysia," Gracia said with a slightly exasperated sigh. She was smiling, however, when the two took off down the hallway to Elysia's bedroom.

Alphonse imaginary-cleared his throat. "Do you need any help with the cooking?"

"No, I'll be fine," Gracia assured him. "You just go and enjoy yourself with those two little kids."

With that, she continued down the hallway and made a left, leaving Alphonse to follow Maes and Elysia. He ducked under the doorframe and into the little girl's bedroom, where she was happily draping fluffy pink blankets over her father's back.

"Hi, Al!" the man greeted joyfully, waving from his cross-legged position on the carpet. Elysia trotted back to the wooden box at the foot of her bed, rummaged around for a bit, and came bouncing back with a toy wand.

"Take this, daddy! You're a fairy!"

"Okey-doke!"

"And big little brother!" Elysia tapped on Alphonse's metal leg and pointed at the dress-up box. "You can be a prince!"

"Okay, then."

Alphonse settled himself on the floor as Elysia bounded back and forth, grabbing various items and placing them all over Alphonse's armour body.

A red cape on his back, a shiny bracelet around his wrist, a toy dog on his lap and finally a plastic crown on his head.

"There! And I can be the princess!" exclaimed Elysia, pulling a pink cape over the yellow dress she wore and donning a tiny tiara. "Now we can play tea party!"

About half an hour into the game, Gracia poked her head in to announce dinner was almost ready. This wasn't the kind of game Alphonse had ever played as a child, or had ever planned to, but seeing Elysia so happy made him happy too.

A couple of minutes later, they removed all the fancy dress clothing and packed away the dolls and cups to go up for dinner.

Alphonse (somehow) went bright red as the family sang happy birthday for him and they talked about all kinds of things. Spending time with this family was probably one of Alphonse's favourite things to do, because it reminded him that even when the world seemed so hard and cold, there were still little bright, warm patches that felt like home.

The Hughes' family home was just one such place, and Alphonse felt enlightened the whole time he spent there, chatting and laughing and playing.

He only wished his brother could have come too.

It might not look it,

But I'm always here for you,

To help you stay strong.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Colonel. They just left. They were headed for the shops."

"That's okay then. Sorry to trouble you."

Roy nodded his head at Gracia and tapped Edward on the shoulder. "C'mon. Let's go."

"…Mmmph…" Edward nodded sluggishly, rubbing his eyes sleepily and turning to go.

Gracia stepped forward a little. "Oh…! Edward, you look exhausted! Come in for a bit, won't you?"

"Nah… S'okay," Edward assured the woman, giving her a small smile and pulling his cloak tighter around his shoulders and flipping up his hood. "Thanks for the offer."

"Are you sure you don't want to come inside? It's raining terribly heavily out there…" offered Gracia, feeling the need to assist the two somehow.

"We'll be fine," Roy said firmly with a nod of his head. "Thank you."

"At least take this, then," Gracia said worriedly, disappearing behind the door briefly. She reappeared moments later with a large black umbrella, handing it to them.

"Don't want you to catch something dangerous out in rain like that," she told them worriedly. "Now be careful out there!"

"Of course," Roy replied, as Edward took the umbrella. "Thank you."

"Yup," said Edward softly. "We will. Thanks."

The two walked down the steps and Roy ducked his head underneath the shelter of the umbrella before taking it from Edward's gloved hands and hoisting it above them both.

"Gimme that. Short people can't carry umbrellas for other people," Roy said pointedly.

"M'kay…"

Roy did a double-take. "Wait, what?"

"Huh?" Edward looked up at the Colonel, puzzled.

"You…" Roy shook his head. "You didn't even react…when I said you were short…"

"I'm not," mumbled Edward exhaustedly. "I'm not short. You're just…" he broke off into a yawn. "…too tall."

Roy frowned concernedly at the boy as they walked the couple of blocks needed to reach the main retail street of East City.

"Feeling alright?" he asked in a falsely nonchalant tone, keeping his stride a little closer to the young alchemist's.

"Yeah, I'm pretty okay," came the weary response. "Tired, sick, cold and sore, but otherwise okay."

"Sore?"

"Rain." Edward pointed up, his face emotionless. "It doesn't mix with machinery well. Points of contact get pretty painful."

"Alright then," Roy replied, making sure to walk as close to the boy as he could to offer him a little support. "Ah, we're almost there. Just past this dog park, I think…"

Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't know what had hit him earlier on. Had it just been the sickness talking, or was there some deep part of him that really wanted to take his own life?

It was scary.

If anything like that ever happened again, when there was no-one there to stop him... What would happen then? If Roy hadn't been there watching him, reminding him that there were other people in the world and that he wasn't alone, might he have done it? Really, actually done it? Slit his own throat?

Roy caught him starting to shake and looked down. "Okay there, kid?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Sure?" Roy touched a hand to the boy's forehead. He felt feverish, but not the 'near-hospitalisation' level he had been before.

Edward didn't move, too tired and caught up in his own thoughts to bother pushing Roy's hand away. What if I lose it completely? What if I end up going mad and hurting people I care about?

"Edward?"

"What if it does happen again?"

Roy moved his hand back off the boy's head. "What?"

Edward stared at the wet ground. "What if I try to…you know… What if I try it again…and I actually…" His voice cracked.

Roy looked up at the shopping district on the far side of the small park. "Come on. 'll let you in on something."

He led the boy over to a bench on a little way across the park. It was sheltered by a huge evergreen tree the largest in the park. And considering the diminutive amount of parks in East City, possibly the largest in the whole place. He took the umbrella down and shook the rain off it.

Edward took a seat, not lifting his stricken gold eyes from the grass. Roy sat down beside him, tapping the point of the umbrella on the ground.

"No doubt you've heard about the Eastern Rebellion?" he said, casting his gaze up to the grey sky. "Now, I'm not sure exactly how much you know, but lot of things happened there. Lots of people were killed."

Edward noted how Roy bluntly stated people had been killed, not 'lost their lives'.

"A lot of Amestrians killed a lot of Ishbalans. Alchemists in particular. It was a bad time. And when you've taken so many lives… It starts to affect you."

Edward glanced up at Roy. His black hair was soaking wet, droplets tracing paths down his face and falling onto the coat he'd hastily pulled over himself without putting his uniform jacket back on. His white shirt was marked with spots of rain.

The man's eyes were focused on the clouds, slightly narrowed as they reflected the hundred tones of grey that hung above. His forehead was creased slightly, as if he were thinking hard about the words he spoke.

"Some people ran. Deserters. Some people refused orders. Insubordination. Some tried to help the enemy. Traitors." He paused. "I suppose you could say…for a brief period, I was a traitor."

Edward sat in silence, listening intently.

"Because for a while…" Roy looked down at his hands. "…I was quite content to help the Ishbalans kill one more Amestrian."

The young alchemist's tired mind struggled to figure out what he meant for a few seconds, but then it clicked.

"And it wouldn't have been hard either." Roy continued. "Miles of empty desert with no water. Gloves that could burn a man to a crisp. A gun it would have been all to easy to point at myself…"

"You…?" Edward mumbled.

Roy nodded. "But I didn't. I never tried again once since. If I could do it, so can you. Just remember why you need to be alive."

Edward nodded and they sat in silence for a moment.

"AWOUFF!"

"YACK!"

"Ed?!"

Roy turned and looked over the back of the bench, where Edward was lying sprawled on the floor with a massive husky pinning him to the ground and licking his chin ecstatically.

"G-get off!" the boy shouted between laughter and coughing as the massive dog tickled him with it's tongue. "You massive brute!"

A young woman came running over. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "Hinto's never done this before!"

She pulled the big dog off Edward by the collar, leaving the boy panting on the ground.

"Dogs pounce me a lot…" he wheezed. "No worries."

"I'm so sorry!" the woman said again. "Bad dog, Hinto!"

Roy stood and offered Edward his hand. "Okay?"

"I'm fine," he responded, doubling over to catch his breath. He watched the lady pull the dog away, still apologising, and stood up straight. A slight smile formed on his lips.

Roy laughed. "Dogs are great aren't they?"

"It tried to kill me with it's tongue."

"Ah, at least they don't run away from you like they do me," Roy said wistfully. "I seem to terrify them."

"Yikes. The great Flame Alchemist's prowess is renowned through all living things. All cower in fear of being barbecued." He grinned a little. "And then stir-fried by Havoc."

They turned one last corner to the market street, which was normally bustling with activity. Today, however, it was only at half-capacity due to the weather.

"Keep an eye out for the seven-foot suit of armour travelling with an over-excitable little kid and a young girl," Roy advised. "We'll find them pretty fast."

Roy's words proved true, the two alchemists making quick work of spotting Maes, Alphonse and Elysia amongst the crowd.

"Hey!" Roy shouted over the heads of various passers by. "Hughes! Alphonse! Over here!"

Neither of them turned, but Elysia - wearing a bright yellow raincoat and riding on her father's shoulders as they waited under a handy canopy for the rain to ease off a little - looked about until her green eyes landed on Roy and Edward.

"Ah!" Her tiny face lit up. "Daddy! Daddy! It's Uncle Roy and little big brother!"

"Huh?" Maes cast a glance upwards. "What was that, honey?"

"Little big brother and Uncle Roy are over there!" exclaimed Elysia, patting her father's cheeks and then pointing in the direction of the two state alchemists.

Maes followed her gaze and his eyes widened in surprise upon reaching their destination. "So it is! Hey, Alphonse! Your brother's over there!"

"What? In this weather? Big brother!"

The three made their way over, Maes taking Elysia off his shoulders to carry her in his arms and Alphonse's pace picking up as he drew closer to his elder brother.

"Hi, little big brother! And Uncle Roy!" Elysia reached out with one hand and patted Roy on the head, giggling. "Why're you outside when it's raining, Uncle Roy? Daddy says when it rains you're as useful as a…umm…what was it? Ah!"

Elysia grinned as she remembered. "A screen door on a submarine!"

"Ack!" Roy's face gained a distinctly crushed look as Elysia laughed and continued to pat his sodden black hair. "Maes, how could you?"

"Oh, come on Roy, you know I wouldn't really mean a thing like that…" The grin on the man's face said otherwise, however.

Alphonse looked down at his brother scornfully, hands on metal hips. "Brother, if I'd known you'd follow me out into the rain, I would have stayed behind!"

Edward didn't reply, just smiled gently as his hair began to stick to his face with water. "Yeah."

"You know being out in this weather can't be good for you! Just look at yourself; you're soaked! That's really bad for you when you're sick," Alphonse forged on. "And your auto-mail might get rusty. Isn't it sore? Let's get you back to the dorms and dry you off…"

"Happy birthday, Al," Edward murmured, reaching up to place his hand on his brother's arm. "Sorry I didn't get you anything. I'll make it up to you, though, I promise."

"I don't need your presents, brother," Alphonse said sternly. "You taking better care of yourself would probably be the best gift you could give me!"

"If you say so," Edward responded. "But I'm still gonna treat you somehow. Just wait. But Alphonse…"

"Yeah?"

Edward opened his mouth as if he had something to say, but then closed it again and shook his head, smiling. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"Okay then."

The five of them picked their way back through the street to Maes's car, Roy carrying the umbrella for both Maes and Elysia and Alphonse trying to shield his brother from the rain as best he could.

The armour-bound alchemist was surprised to find that his brother wasn't walking a couple of feet ahead of him or a little more to the side like usual, but right alongside him.

The Fullmetal Alchemist was indeed walking very closely to his younger brother, although he wasn't quite sure why. He felt the sudden urge to be as close as possible to him for some reason or the other, and even brushed right up against him on occasion.

Alphonse kept glancing down at him, and eventually Edward stated, "If you're wondering why I'm walking so close, it's because I might need you to catch me if I suddenly collapse."

Alphonse imaginary-sighed and rolled his eyes, holding out a hand for his brother. "Here, then. Take my hand. I don't want to lose you in the crowd."

Edward nodded and obliged, too tired to protest. "Alright."

Roy cocked his head at the two, his eyes slipping down to the grip they shared.

"What happened when we were gone?" Maes murmured. "Something happened. What was it?"

"Nothing major," Roy explained. "I think it was just Edward realising how much he needs to stay with his brother…"

"Whatcha talking about, daddy?" Elysia called up from her position at her father's feet. "Is it soldier stuff?"

"Yeah, that's what," Maes told her. "I don't want you worrying about it, so you don't need to know. It's boring, anyway. Lots of paperwork and phone calls."

"And guns?" Elysia asked quietly. "Daddy…do soldiers kill people? Mickey said that soldiers have guns and they go to war and kill people…"

Maes' brow furrowed at this out of the blue question and then his expression softened. "No, sweetie. The soldiers are there to protect you. Daddy doesn't use guns, daddy does desk work. Some soldiers have to fight other people, but daddy doesn't do that. Daddy doesn't like to hurt anyone, but sometimes…"

Roy's heart twisted. The expression on Maes's face wasn't one he liked to see - saying this to his daughter was hurting him. He was lying to her and they both knew it.

"But," Roy added. "If he has to, your daddy will take a gun and protect you and your mommy with it. That's what soldiers do."

Elysia's face brightened a little. "So, when I grow up, I can be a soldier and protect you and mommy?"

Maes shook his head stubbornly. "No! I'll be a soldier for as long as it takes to protect both you and mommy! That's my job! You don't have to do any of the boring paperwork!"

Roy smiled. "Listen to your daddy, Elysia. He's right. And I'll help him protect you, too."

"What about little big brother and big little brother? Are they gonna protect people or be protected?"

Roy frowned. "Ah…"

He looked down at the little girl, who stared up at him with curious green eyes. "Edward and Alphonse are a little different. They protect each other, Elysia. And whilst they're doing that, I'll be protecting both of them. Do you understand?"

Elysia smiled and nodded. "Yup! Soldiers are for protecting people! I'm gonna be a soldier and protect people like you do, and daddy, and little big brother!"

Maes scowled. "Now what did I say? I don't want you out doing dangerous things! You stay safe and let daddy watch over you!"

Roy handed Maes the umbrella and motioned towards Edward. "Go on up there and carry that over him. I don't want him getting any wetter than he already is. I'll stay back here."

"Okey-dokey," Maes said, moving up beside the two Elric brothers.

Roy walked behind them at a slower pace, contemplating.

"Daddy, do soldiers kill people?"

"Yikes. The great Flame Alchemist's prowess is renowned through all living things. All cower in fear of being barbecued."

"I can't just kill someone and walk away! Not like you can!"

These and many other words raced through Roy's thoughts, and he slowed almost to a stop.

Yes, he thought heavily. Soldiers do kill people. That's our job. The job I've done so well for over half my life. I really am a dog, aren't I?

He stopped moving altogether, looking at his hands as the rain poured down on him. How many people have I killed so far? There's so many I can't even count. I… I…

He turned his hands over to examine the backs, noting how foreign and bare they looked without his gloves on.

Can a power like that ever be used to protect?

"Roy! You coming?!" Maes called back.

Roy's head snapped back up. "Oh! S-sorry! Just spaced out a little there! My brains must still be fried from that all-nighter!"

He jogged forward a little and caught up.

They rounded the corner and Maes unlocked his car. "You two brothers squish in the back there. Elysia, you can sit beside Ed and us two'll be in the front," he decided, nodding towards the car. "Now, get in there."

The three kids obliged, Alphonse trying to make himself as small as possible and Elysia half-sitting on Edward's lap.

Maes hopped behind the wheel and started the car up. A conversational babble broke out in the back of the car, leaving Roy and Maes to their own devices.

"So," Maes said, blowing out his cheeks a little. "What's bothering you?"

"Why would something be bothering me?" Roy responded, fiddling with the stars on his shoulders. "I'm not at work or flaming stuff, so I'm automatically being bothered by something?"

"The day that Roy Mustang danders through the streets in the rain without complaining is the day that something's bothering him," Maes replied, speaking as if it were some well-known fact that any person with an ounce of general knowledge would know. "So what is it?"

"Your daughter is just like you," Roy informed his friend in an almost thoughtful manner. "She has the same sort of 'out of the blue with no warning' thing."

"So that's it," Maes said, swinging a left and hardening his expression. After a few seconds of thought, he began to speak again. "She does, now that I think about it. That's definitely me; Gracia's far too polite. But y'know, she's got a good heart. Real good. That's like Gracia."

"You too," Roy put in. "When you're not being an obnoxious, rambling fool."

Maes let out a laugh. "If you say so. Anyways, I've been thinking recently. It's like what that one alchemist said - Kimmy or whoever - us humans are always trying to think of ways to justify our actions, aren't we? We're always like, 'I did it because I thought it was right' or 'I did it because that's what I was told', or even 'I did it because I wanted to'. But just 'cause we think it's right, doesn't make it right, does it?" he mused.

Roy nodded in mute agreement, half surprised into silence; Maes wasn't the type of person to really talk about this kind of thing.

"But then, what if we do something we think is wrong because someone told us to? Does that mean they must see it as right? Are we still the ones at fault for doing it? But what if we thought it was wrong when it was actually right? Does that make us evil? And what about a person who does something that's wrong to us, but they think it's totally okay? Are they evil then, or are they doing good? It's all about perspectives, Roy. If you've done something that you think is wrong, and feel guilty for it, then you're probably on the side of what you see is right."

Roy was at a complete loss now. His best friend was spouting utter babble that made no sense, at all, whatsoever. "Maes, you've lost me."

The man grinned. "If a soldier is given a direct order to kill an innocent person, and they do it even though they don't want to, who is the evil one? The soldier or their superior? Who has the blood on their hands?"

"It's the soldier, Maes," Roy muttered dully. "He's the one that did it."

"Yeah, he might have done it, but that's like saying if a man stabs someone, the knife is the murderer."

The Colonel puzzled on this.

"Roy, we both know what happened in Ishbal wasn't right. But we had our orders, what could we do?" Maes almost whispered. "It was either fight, or let down ourselves, our country, our ambitions and just die. If we believe it was wrong, then we believe it was wrong. But it was the Fuhrer who was wrong. We're just his knife. He's got the blood on his hands, so leave that for him to deal with. All we have to do is try and make up for not refusing those orders whilst we had the chance, or having done something more to stop that genocide."

Roy heard the chatter in the back start to die down a little, and he looked back.

Edward had basically dropped where he sat, his energy having hit rock bottom. His head was leaning back on both Alphonse's side and the seat, his yellow bangs starting to curl and frizz as they dried. Elysia yawned and stretched, curling into his side and closing her eyes. Alphonse's scarlet eyes had narrowed to slits, giving him a sort of drowsy appearance and he sat still so his brother could lean against him.

"And the best way to make up for it all is to become Fuhrer and fix this twisted country, isn't that right?" Maes said softly, turning down the street the Hughes family house was situated on. "And to switch those flames in another direction; protect those important people instead of killing for no reason."

Roy smirked tiredly. "That's right."

"I'm always right," Maes stated in an egocentric manner. "I'm still right, even when I'm wrong. In some way."

Roy gave an amused snort and nodded, "You wish."

"I'm not kidding. I am the most right-est person on the planet. I'm so right, wrongness cowers at the very sound of my name; Maes Hughes, the King of Right!"

"More like the King of Left," Roy muttered, nudging his friend good naturedly. "You idiot."

"I may be," Maes said with a nod as he removed the keys from the ignition. "But you have to admit; I'm smarter than you sometimes. Don't try to deny it."

"Sadly," Roy said with a snort. "I can't say you're wrong there."

They both got out of the car and went round of the back and opened the doors.

"Huh?" Alphonse's helmet jerked up and snapped in all directions. "We're here? I totally zoned out there…"

Roy nodded. "Yeah, we're here alright. Getting out?"

Maes grabbed Elysia's sleeping form out of the back of the car and Alphonse nudged his brother into some state of wakefulness, all of them piling out of the car.

"Edward looks like a dead boy walking," Roy commented as he rang the doorbell, motioning at the drowsing teen as they waited for Gracia to answer.

Edward didn't reply, somewhat unsurprisingly.

Alphonse gave a little sigh as he looked down at his brother. "Of course he does. He didn't even rest, just ran right out in the rain. Isn't that right, bro?"

Edward rubbed his chin on his shoulder, yawning.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Gracia opened the door and beckoned them all inside, welcoming home Maes and Elysia and greeting Roy and the Elric brothers with her usual kindness.

Almost immediately, her motherly instincts kicked in and she hustled Edward off down the corridor to the spare room to sleep without even hearing a word of complaint from the boy.

Both Alphonse and Roy were thankful for this.

"Oh! Alphonse!" Gracia began as she stepped back into the room. "Elysia and I baked cake for your birthday. Do you and Roy want to come and have some?"

Alphonse looked at Roy, who shrugged. "Alphonse has already eaten today, and since part of his training is fasting as well as wearing that armour, he doesn't eat again 'til later, but I'm sure he could take some with him."

"I can share with my big brother," added the younger Elric.

"And what about you, Roy?"

The Colonel shrugged again. "I don't see why not."

A dog can't sprout wings,

Nor can birds grow pointed fangs,

But what's to say I…

"…can't take turns being either?" Edward finished, folding his hands behind his head. "I mean, if the Colonel here thinks I can't be a kid and a soldier, I'll just have to shift. You know, act as a soldier when I need to and still have a little time to muck around with you too?"

Alphonse gave a quiet giggle. "I suppose. I mean, if it's gonna be like this, then why shouldn't we have some fun along the road?"

Edward grinned and nodded. "Yeah! Who says we're too old for this kinda thing?"

"Big brothers! Big brothers! Lookie!" Elysia exclaimed, grabbing at Edward's trouser leg. "I'm a princess again! A pretty princess!"

Edward smiled at the little girl as she ran circles around the living room, giggling and cheering. "I'm a princess, little big brother is my puppy, big little brother is my birdie, daddy is the king, mommy is the queen and Uncle Roy is a wizard! A magic wizard with magic gloves!"

Roy, decked out in a sparkling cape and top hat, sighed resignedly as Maes slapped him on the back and grinned, waving his crown in the air.

Gracia smiled gently and tried to tone down her excitable daughter, but not quite managing.

A week after Alphonse's birthday, the world had returned to normal and Edward had fully recovered.

Roy was still partially depressed by Elysia's increased repeating of Maes comparisons (inflatable dart board, waterproof sponge, invisible practise target, stopped clock, etc.) and refused to go out in the rain at all for a while afterwards.

He was quite pleased, however, by being referred to as 'a magic wizard with magic gloves' whilst Edward was stuck with 'puppy'.

"And we can all be happy together!" proclaimed the little girl. "And you don't have to do boring soldier stuff here, you can protect each other! Yeah?"

The two men in the room smiled and nodded simultaneously. "Yeah."

Edward closed his eyes and leant back on the sofa. "Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna go home and pay Winry a little visit as a late birthday present from me?" the boy asked. "Would that work?"

"That's fine with me, brother. Absolutely fine."

"Cool. Let's do that then."

"And then we'll have cake!" called Elysia. "Right, mommy? Little big brother was sick and sleepy last time and didn't have any cake for big little brother's birthday, so we should have more now! 'Kay?"

"Alright, dear," Gracia said with a sigh. "We can do that."

"Yay! Cake for mommy and daddy and Uncle Roy and big brothers! We'll all be like a happy family!"

Was it good? Or was it HOOOOORRRRRIIIIIBBBLLEEE?! I sincerely hope it wasn't the latter.

Okay, thanks a ton to everyone who read, review, followed and/or favourite-eded...ed...ed! I appreciate the positive comments and everything! They make me so excited! So for the last chapter, I hope you'll all give me a little bit of feedback - like what I did well (or not well) and what I should do next or some time in the future.

But then you don't have to. Just having people read my stories is good enough for me!

ZAKURO AWAY FOR THE LAST TIME IN THIS STORY! *rainbows off hoping I'll get some lovely review to mentally OM NOM NOM when I check them*