Under cloud, beneath the stars
Over snow and winter's morn
I turn at last to paths that lead home
And though where the road then takes me
I cannot tell
We came all this way
But now comes the day
To bid you farewell

**********

Aiden sighed and ran a hand over her face at the newest batch of cadets. They were more hopeless than a thief trying to steal gold from a goblin and hoping they wouldn't notice. It'd ultimately end in death or severe injuries. Unfortunately, it was her job to correct it.

"Why not teach the next generation?" they said. "Since you became a State Alchemist to marry Mustang, it's not like you have much to do now anyway. They don't send you places."

When they said next generation, Aiden thought they meant children. Resign and become a teacher for middle schoolers. Was it ever that easy? Nope! They meant teach the incoming cadets whatever they happened to be lacking in. Accuracy in arms, basic medical training, or anything that happened to come up. The academy already taught those things. Meaning she was stuck with the stragglers who were either incompetent or thought military life would be a breeze with their father being so-and-so and didn't do squat.

"Henderson!" she barked sharply. "Get your ass in there and fight your partner!"

Jefferson Henderson, a nineteen-year-old with brown hair and brown eyes, was one of the cadets who thought he could get away with anything because of his father's senior ranking. She'd been trying for two weeks to get the kid to participate with marginal success. He was ignorant and, if she was honest, a downright asshole to his peers.

His partner, a young man called Evans, was a little bit slower in the mind and took longer than the rest of his class to catch on to things. Because of that, he was tossed in with her catch-up/glorified nanny class. The poor dear was standing awkwardly away from both his sparring partner and the rest of the class.

Henderson rolled his eyes at her and even had the gall to over-exaggeratedly yawn. Aiden's dwindling patience with the young adult snapped like a twig and she put two fingers to her mouth before letting out a shrill whistle. "Fall in!" she snapped.

The six figures in the field stopped fighting and immediately lined up in front of her. It'd been the only drill she'd been able to beat into them. Evans joined them in a heartbeat and even Henderson dragged his feet over. The eight cadets stood in line, stock still, barring Henderson.

Aiden's gaze passed easily over each student until it rested on Henderson. A sickly sweet smile placed itself on her face and she heard one of the others gulp. Good, they'd learned fear. "Henderson," she said, "would you mind explaining why you aren't participating in this exercise?"

He shrugged. "I find it pointless. I already know how to fight."

Aiden stared blankly. Which Dumbfuck tree did this moron fall from? And did he happen to hit every stupid-branch on the way down? "You think you don't have to participate because you can already fight."

"Yeah."

Without a word she swept his legs out from under him, forced him into the ground face first, and shoved a knife into the dirt, inches from his face. "Tell me that again, I dare you."

The cadet fought under her weight in alarm while the class watched in shock and awe. No one had stood up to the General's kid before. "That's not fair! I wasn't ready!" He reached around to blindly swing at her.

In one swift movement she pinned one arm and twisted the other behind his back. "This is the military! It's never fair! You think the enemy will give you a chance to get ready? Do you think they'll count to three and wait for you to shoot them? Blare a horn and announce their presence for you?" She leaned closer and hissed in his ear. "Whoever you face will crush you like a bug because you didn't take basic training seriously. They'll take advantage of your inexperience and sneak up behind you and cut your throat."

Then she was off of him and Henderson shot up with a glare. "Just because you married the Flame Alchemist doesn't mean you can treat me like dirt! Don't you know who my father is?"

"Your father is General Henderson. I remember him being a lot different than you, at least your father knew the basics when I saved his life in Ishval. Shall I give him a call? I know he'd love to hear how his son is failing one of the most basic necessities of military life and is one more infraction from being discharged."

Aiden hated berating others but she wasn't above it in the least. She did what was needed and what this cadet needed was a severe reality check. "You can fight me here and now, cadet Henderson. You beat me you get to stay. The rest of you will observe."

Before he could counter with his own argument Aiden shed the blue uniform jacket and tossed it on the ground. She entered one of the circles painted on the ground and waited for Henderson to enter the ring.

The second he did he charged her. His first mistake. His second mistake was throwing a too slow punch, which she caught and twisted behind his back before giving him a hard kick to the ass.

Aiden wouldn't lie and say it didn't feel good to literally kick some sense into the guy.

Henderson stumbled forward and shot back around at a run, aiming a kick to her stomach. She grabbed that too, though the force made her wince, he had strong legs. From there she kept his momentum going and tossed him several feet away, him landing on his back.

Henderson growled and stood again, this time staying where he was. He wanted her to come to him. Good, he was learning she couldn't be overwhelmed by quick - sloppy - attacks. Aiden grinned and obliged her student by running at him, right arm back. He moved to block her attack. She dropped and slid between his widened legs. From there she jumped up, kicked out a knee, and tackled him to the ground.

Aiden did have to give him credit for not having face planted and instead switched their places, her back connecting with the ground and his back to her chest. But the fight was over. She grabbed one arm and forced it under her leg and the other was quickly put out of commission when she twisted it past the point of spraining. Not enough to break it but still incredibly painful. She was out of reach of his legs and his arms couldn't touch her. He obviously hadn't thought of headbutting her.

"You're paralyzed and can't move," Aiden said. "We're done here."

She let go of his appendages and pushed him off to walk away. Whispers broke out among the cadets that'd been watching. They couldn't believe she'd floored him in ten seconds! To make things worse, she'd been toying with him and wasn't winded in the least. They turned to Henderson who was staring at the ground, resigned to his fate. He was going to be gone the next day.

The blue jacket was pulled on and she turned around to face her student. "See you tomorrow for training." She ignored the uproar as she fitted the jacket in place. Henderson was staring at her in shock and disbelief.

"What? I don't get it? I didn't win the fight."

"I never said what would happen should you fail. You not only fought with everything you had, but you showed me you can learn and adapt." Aiden spun on her heel and walked away. "You're going to need that if you want to survive in this place!"

From that day forward, teaching the cadets didn't come as hard. Apparently she'd earned their respect by flooring Henderson and still keeping him around even after threatening a discharge. They may also fear for their own careers as military officers.

But these events didn't happen for a while. Before all that, other things happened.

After Roy's declaration of expecting a child, which took many attempts from Maes to get any semblance of a proper sentence over the phone, he'd proposed. According to Maes and Jean he'd been planning for a few months, since the night of the ball, ironically. Maes hadn't let the wedding be a nice and quiet affair like she would have preferred, but he dialed back the number of pictures he took. Instead of three hundred, there were only a hundred and ninety-eight.

Riza and Gracia had been her maids of honor while Elicia strode down the aisle with their rings. Maes was, unsurprisingly, Roy's best man. Edward, Alphonse, and Winry came out from Resembool for the event. What did surprise her was the visit from Ling, Lan Fan, and Mei. Even her ex-subordinate showed up! Bringing in tow her husband and two children.

Kathryn Mustang was born in Central hospital at 7:46 in the afternoon. A hellish day on both parties when Roy had to run from a meeting with Grumman and arrive just to hear Aiden screaming profanities for the fourth time at Kain, the poor man who'd driven her. Kathryn, or Katy, named after the woman who kept Aiden alive, was born with hair as black as her parents. The Xingese genes from Roy came through with eyes just like her father, creating a pretty picture with her baby blues.

Roy cried when he held her for the first time, which Maes got a picture of. There would always be a spare copy of Aiden's sweat-soaked and teary-eyed self holding little Katy as she smiled at the camera, Roy not three inches away and giving the pair a loving expression.

Aiden chuckled and shook her head at the memory. It'd been two years since she gave up teaching the newbies basics, giving much more free time. It was unfortunate Jed took over training, the man asked her several times a day how she hadn't shot, skewered, or thrown one of the greenies off a building.

"Imagine how bad the prison food is," was all she said.

With her newfound freedom and extra hours, Aiden had more time to spend with her family.

It'd been five years since Katy had been born and Aiden was at her desk, watching her daughter with soft eyes. She was napping in Roy's arms after a long day of spending time with her mother in Central Command. Roy himself was dozing on the couch of their shared office.

With a quick swish of her pen she finished her paperwork for the day and stood, reaching to the sky and popping her spine. Roy's eyes blinked open and he watched as she neared and placed a kiss on their daughter's temple. Then she leaned up and kissed him, sighing into the feeling of love and warmth she felt.

Aiden pulled away, "Ready to go home?"

Roy reached up and pulled her into another kiss. "Ready."

"Gross!"

The two adults pulled away and laughed at the disgusted expression on their daughter's face. Her baby blues had gradually turned black after she'd been born and she looked so much like her father. They shared a look and proceeded to attack her with kisses, the girl squealing and giggling.

"Noooo! Dad! Mom! Ah!"

The parents pulled away and Roy wrapped the two women in his life in a hug. "I love you."

"Love you too, hun."

"Luh you daddy! Luh you ma!"

********

And that's the end! Roy and Aiden had a daughter they named after Katy (though my actual reasoning was naming her after a Star Trek captain), they got married, Aiden taught new cadets for a while, and they lived happily ever after.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading as much as I did writing and reading your reviews! I don't know about you, but this was one hell of a wild ride for me. Love you bunches!

Fun Fact: There shouldn't be any fraternization in the Amestrian military. Most people tend to disregard this. State Alchemists are categorized as a separate branch of the military, sort of like licensed free-lancers. Due to this, the fraternization rule can be bent. While Aiden didn't have to become a State Alchemist to marry Roy, she preferred having all the leeway possible in case anyone would dispute it. (No one would, especially with Grumman on their side but she liked the added mobility.)