Hey guys. This is the last chapter of Morphed, and though it's not particularly long, it covers everything that needs to be covered, and I'm actually very happy with it. I think you guys will be too. 🙂

Merry Christmas, everybody.

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We stand undefined
Can't be drawn with a straight line
This will not be our ending
We are alive, we are alive

~Imperfection (Evanescence)

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The Winter air was cold, and the Hughes family were rugged up warm as they played in the snow. Alphonse and Elicia Hughes took joy in the snow that was as deep as their ankles. They made snow men, snow angels and had snowball fights, as their vigilant mother, Gracia, watched on, keeping her eye on the children and the people surrounding them. The sky was clear today, so they weren't the only family outside, though they were the first. Alphonse had quickly been joined by some of his friends, as had Elicia. Though as the day had progressed, the group had dissipated, until it was just Al and Elicia again.

Alphonse looked back over his shoulder, grinned and waved.

"Ed, come play with us!" He called.

Edward smiled, but shook his head. "Nah Al, I'm good over here." He said. Al shrugged and went back to building a snowman with Elicia. Gracia smiled down at him from her place beside Ed on the park bench.

"Edward Hughes," She chided lightly. "Why don't you go play with your brother?"

Ed sighed. "I just...don't feel like it, Gracia." He said. Gracia nodded her understanding, but didn't say anything, choosing instead to scoot a little closer and wrap her arm around his shoulder. It was something she'd been doing to comfort him ever since the woman had adopted him a few months ago, and Edward found he quite enjoyed it. He leaned into the contact a little more, breathing deeply.

He remembered the day Gracia had told him that she had adopted him. He'd spent his entire stay in the hospital waiting for the day he'd be released, but he'd stressed as to where he would go once that day came. He'd already been released from Mustang's 'care', and as relieving as that was, he was terrified he was going to end up trapped in the Foster system, as Pinako had already been deemed unfit to look after him due to her age. She'd been told by the child welfare officers that she was lucky to continue to keep custody of her granddaughter, and not to push her luck by trying to take in anyone else. Ed had understood, and told her not to try and pursue the matter any more. She'd argued, wanting to fight for him, but Edward had made it clear to her that Winry had to be her first priority, and, reluctantly, Pinako backed down.

Despite telling her that he'd be fine, he was still sweating bullets the day he was to be released.

And then, at the last moment, Gracia had walked into his hospital room, the same time as she visited every day, with her daughter and her adopted son at her heels. And then she'd pulled the adoption papers out of her pocket, and Edward had cried.

Now here they were, three months later, enjoying the snow. As he watched his brother and sister playing, Ed thought about what had happened directly following the defeat of Father. After he'd made it to the Hospital and saved Riza's life, almost killing himself in the process, he'd been put in a medically induced coma for a week while the doctors had done their best to heal him. He'd woken up with a pounding head and a sore...well...everything, but the first thing he'd done was ask where she was and if she was okay. He'd been relieved to hear that she was.

"Alphonse! Elicia!" Gracia called from beside him. Both kids heads snapped up and looked towards them. "It's time to go home!" She informed them.

Edward stood up beside her and stretched while they waited for Al and Elicia to make their way back to them. When they dad, Al took his place beside Ed, and they followed Elicia and Gracia back home.

Edward and Alphonse had been getting closer again in these past few months. Not quite as close as they once had been - they'd probably never reach that level of interdependence ever again - but they had closed most of the gap that had grown between them after Ed had been recovered from the Chimera lab two years ago. Ed trusted Al to talk to now, though he didn't talk to Al about his problems with Al much as he used to with Maes.

But he was getting there. Trying. He was making an effort to bridge the gap with his brother, and Ed thought that Hughes would be proud of of him for that.

Ed looked at his younger brother, smiling softly, and wrapped an arm around the only-slightly-smaller boys shoulder. Al looked up at him, beaming, and wrapped an arm around Ed's waist. They pulled each other close for a few moments, before letting go when they were getting too far behind. When they resumed walking, Ed felt warm despite the cold.

He'd missed having someone he could do that with.

When they arrived back at their apartment, Gracia turned on the radio while the two youngest went to change into dry clothes. Ed plopped himself down on the couch and threw an arm over his eyes, listening to the radio hostess.

"-and minus 5 degrees estimated for the rest of the week. In other news, the authorities still do not know what happened to Fuhrer Bradley and his son, Selim. The Investigations Department continues to search for clues as to what happened that day the Fuhrer and his son disintegrated before the eyes of the public six months ago, but-"

Ed snorted in amusement. He doubted that Investigations would ever actually come up with an explanation for what happened. The Fuhrer had apparently been addressing the public, attempting to calm them down and distract them from the rumbling that was happening underground, his son at his side, when they had abruptly began to disintegrate in front of the citizen's eyes. Ed had done some cross referencing, and discovered that the Fuhrer and his son had began to disintegrate at the same moment that Father had properly died. Edward suspected that because Father was the one who had created them, that the Homunculus had tied his children's life forces to him. When he died, they died.

Which is why Ed had been shocked that Selim Bradley had died, too. That meant that the child was also a Homunculus. As much as that had alarmed Ed, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Mrs Bradley, who had lost her husband and her son at the same time, leaving her traumatised and alone.

On the other hand, it was comforting to know that any other Homunculi Father may have made had also died with him.

Havoc, Hawkeye and Mustang agreed.

Ed laughed softly to himself. Those three had given Edward all of the credit for being the one to land the final blow on Father and kill him, but as far as Edward was concerned, Lieutenant Havoc was the one who deserved the credit. Ed wouldn't have been able to make that final blow if Havoc hadn't distracted and debilitated Father with the shot to the head. Ed thought Havoc was the one to congratulate, not him. Besides, the whole thing was a team effort. Without Mustang and Hawkeye, it never would have even gotten to that point. The four had agreed to give each other equal credit for what they'd done.

Not that anyone else could or would know what they'd done to save their country, but it was nice to know that among their small group, everyone had had an equal part to play.

Ed was broken out of his reverie by three knocks on the apartment door.

"I'll get it!" He called. Gracia was in the middle of cooking, so he thought he'd be useful and get it for her. He stood up and made his way to the door, peeking through the peephole before opening it. When he saw who it was, he smiled and unlocked the door, opening it wide.

"Hey Riza!" He said.

"Hello, Edward." Hawkeye said.

"Come in." Ed gestured with his arm for her to enter, and when she did he shut the door behind her. "Dinner should be done soon." He told her as he led her to the lounge room. They both sat down on opposite couches, facing each other. "So how've you been, Riza?" Edward asked.

"Not too bad I suppose." She responded. "Investigations has been hassling us, trying to find out if we know anything about Bradley." She scoffed, amused. "They're not getting very far."

"I didn't think they would." Ed chuckled. "How's the team?"

"We're doing well. Fuery got promoted."

"Warrant Officer. Cool."

"Yes. He's quite happy about it."

"I can imagine."

"So, Edward. How have you been doing?"

"Alright, I guess." He said. "Al and I have been getting closer again. It's been...nice, having someone else to talk to. I missed how close we used to be."

Hawkeye nodded, understanding.

"How's Jennings?" She asked.

"He's alright." Ed said. Crowley Jennings was Edward's therapist, who Edward had reluctantly agreed to go see once a week a few months back, at Hawkeye's request. As much as he'd hated it the first few sessions, Edward found that Jennings was actually quite helpful, and he was part of the reason Edward was actually getting better. It had been Jennings' encouragement to mend things with Al that had prompted Edward to actually try.

The man was also helping him deal with the things that had been done to him two years ago when he'd been used as an experiment, and the things that Lust had done to him six months ago.

"Yeah, he's...he's been a huge help. Thank you for convincing me to go."

Riza smiled. "You're welcome, Edward."

A moment of silence followed, and then, "Edward? I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it."

"When Gracia adopted you, I expected you to keep your surname, Elric, but instead you took on Hughes as your last name." Hawkeye said. "I was just...wondering why."

Ed thought for a moment before speaking. "Edward Elric is famous. There's barely a soul in Amestris who doesn't know the name. And...I don't want to be Edward Elric anymore. I don't want the fame that came with being a dog of the military, and I don't want the history. Edward Elric was a lot of things I don't like to remember. Besides, everyone knows of Edward Elric. No one knows who Edward Hughes is."

"That...makes sense." She paused. "You know what? I think Hughes suits you better, anyway."

"Thank you."

They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company, when Gracia called out to them.

"Dinner's ready!"

Ed and Riza stood and made their way to the dinner table, Elicia and Alphonse not too far behind them. They all sat down and dug in - Hughes was no liar, Gracia really was a fantastic cook. The meal was delicious, and they all chatted happily as they ate.

Edward looked around at them all, watching them talk, talking with them. Everyone was enjoying themselves, even Ed. They all loved it when Riza came over for dinner, something she did regularly lately.

As he watched his family, Edward realised something.

He was content. Happy. Despite the past, he had a good life now and a wonderful family.

And honestly, that was all he really needed.