Nina and Amy left the clinic around four that afternoon. There were still people waiting but Alphonse insisted that they go and that he and May would take care of their usual end-of-day clean-up duties.
When they got home and came in the door, there wasn’t anyone around. “That’s weird,” Amy said as both she and Nina hung up their coats and set the boxes from their Uncle on the living room coffee table.
“Yeah, usually I’m being pummeled by E.J. the minute I walk through the door,” Nina said as she started to walk towards the kitchen.
“I would have at least thought Mom would be in here holding a cake like she usually does on our birthday,” Amy commented as she followed her sister.
“Surprise!” came a chorus of voices as Nina pushed the door open. Nina and Amy stood in the door and laughed. Gathered in the kitchen were Edward, Natalie, and E.J. as well as other friends and family, many of which neither Amy nor Nina expected to be there.
Edward walked over to his daughters and hugged them tight. It had been a week since he’d seen them last. “Happy Birthday girls,” he said smiling at them.
“Happy Birthday!” the rest of the room echoed.
Edward escorted the girls over to the table and sat them down. On the table in front of them was a cake larger than they’d ever seen. Could their Mom really have made this? “Thanks everyone!” they said in unison.
“Blow out the candles already!” E.J. chimed. It was clear he was itching for cake.
“Now E.J. you know we have to have birthday dinner before cake,” Natalie said picking up her son with a laugh. E.J. pouted at her.
The girls stood up and closed their eyes to make a wish before blowing the candles out together.
“So what did you wish for?” Maes asked.
Nina just stuck her tongue out at him. “If I tell you it won’t come true,” she replied.
Edward came over and took the cake out of the way for now. “Your cousin’s right Maes. Besides, you should know better than to ask a girl what she wishes for. It’s like asking her how old she is or how much she weighs,” he said with a wink.
“Edward! Don’t fill that boy’s head with any more nonsence than you already have!” Natalie scolded as she put E.J. down and started taking things out to set the table.
“Do you need any help?” asked Alicia Hughes as she came up beside Natalie.
“Oh thank you Elicia, can you put the plates and silverware out while I get food?”
Elicia nodded and started setting the table as Natalie had asked her to. Her mother Gracia helped her. Edward helped Natalie with the food. Amy and Nina went around the room talking to people. Nina avoided Riley but went to talk to Riza Hawkeye-Mustang. Once Roy had become Fuhrer, she’d resigned from the military and married him. She was still a far better body guard for him than any of the military though and she made sure they knew it. After that she went over and said hello to Lieutenant Colonel Havoc and his wife Rebecca, avoiding their son Austin. He was one of Riley’s cronies and she wanted nothing to do with him. Amy surrounded herself with the Moron Squad which consisted of Riley Mustang, Austin Havoc, Peter Breda, and Harrison Fury.
After a few minutes Natalie called everyone to the table and they chatted and caught up over the elaborate meal that Natalie had spent the day preparing.
“So Nina, Amy, I hear you two are going to be taking the Acceptance Exam to get into the Central Academy of Alchemy,” Gracia asked.
Nina nodded. “That’s right, we go next week.”
“Why not go to the Eastern Branch?” she asked.
Both Nina and Amy looked at each other then over at their father. “Do I have to answer that?” Nina asked.
Edward just laughed. “They’re afraid I’ll embarrass them too much.”
“Well it’s not exactly easy being your daughter Dad,” Amy said. “We get enough grief from people who know you’re our father. At least without you around we might have a prayer of having some normalcy.”
Nina just shook her head. “I just want the Central Branch because they specialize in medicine and medicinal alchemy. I don’t mind the scrutiny of being an Elric, just makes me work harder to make sure I live up to the expectations.”
Amy just shook her head. “Why do you work so hard? I swear, you need to learn to have a little fun.”
Nina stuck her tongue out at her sister. “Well if I had the ‘natural’ talent you had Amy I wouldn’t have to work as hard. But then, medicinal alchemy also requires more than just natural ability to get right, it takes real skill too.”
Amy scowled at her sister. Natalie could see an argument brewing a mile away and shot them both a menacing look. Natalie really could be scary when she wanted to be and it instantly stopped the argument.
“Nina’s clearly going to specialize in medicinal alchemy, but what about you Amy?” Riza asked.
“Offensive Alchemy actually, mostly in metal and stone crafting that can be used for weapons. I really like to fight so I want to put my skills to good use once I pass the State Alchemy Exam and enter the military.”
Edward couldn’t help but to scowl a bit. He hated the idea of one of his daughters being in the military even now that things were peaceful. One never knew when that would change and he didn’t want either of his daughters in harm’s way. He knew better than to try and stop either of them though, they had inherited every bit of stubbornness that both he and Natalie contained and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to change their minds about what they aspired for.
“Are you going to be taking the State Alchemy Exam too Nina?” Riza asked.
She nodded. “Yeah but only because it will give me more credibility when I become a doctor. It also makes becoming an alchemic doctor easier. I’m actually thankful that Fuhrer Mustang made that possible. I really didn’t want to have to be a ‘Dog of the State’ like you guys always told us stories about just so I could practice alchemic medicine.”
“You do know they can still call you in times of conflict though right?” Edward said.
“I know Daddy, but that would apply if I was State certified or not since I’d be a doctor.”
Edward nodded. If nothing else at least they had made sure to do their homework before making their decisions. Of course, he and Natalie had also made sure to tell them as much as they could as well. Edward couldn’t help but to be proud of them both.
Once everyone had eaten their fill and the table had been cleared, it was time for presents. This didn’t make E.J. very happy since he still wanted nothing more than to gorge himself on cake but they figured dessert would be best after everyone had a chance to digest dinner. Most of the gifts for Nina had been books. She loved that, more things for her to read and those for Amy were clothes and trinkets which she loved just as much. Then it came time for Edward and Natalie to give them their gifts. They had both left the room for a few minutes then had returned with a box each. They were identical in size and a bit large. The box Natalie had been carrying she set down in front of Nina and Edward put his down in front of Amy.
Both of the girls looked at each other and wondered what could possibly be in these rather long and thin boxes. They slowly pulled the ribbons free and opened the lids. Nina’s jaw nearly dropped and Amy looked completely dumbfounded.
“Mom… Dad… are these what I think they are?” Nina asked.
“Pull them out and you’ll see,” Natalie said with a smile.
Both girls did as their mother had said and pulled the jackets from their boxes. Nina held up a black jacket and Amy a red one. On the back of both was the snake on the cross symbol that both girls knew very well, Nina’s white and Amy’s black. These were the jackets that their parents had worn in their younger days. Putting the jackets on both girls posed a bit looking each other over. Edward put his arm around Natalie and she rested her head on his shoulder, both of them smiling.
“You two have worked so hard and become beautiful young women. Your father and I couldn’t be more proud of you and we thought it was time to pass these on to you. Hopefully they will see as many wondrous adventures with you two as they did with us.”
Amy and Nina both started to cry, this meant so much to them. Natalie and Edward went over to their daughters and hugged them tightly. “Thank you Mom and Dad,” the girls said softly still misty eyed hugging their parents in return.
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