I wiped away my tears as I ran into the house. Brother says it's not good for mom to see us upset while she's sick. I hate that mom doesn't feel good, it's not like her lie in bed all day...it scares me. She tries to hide a lot of what she's feeling from us.

"Here, I got the clean cloths you asked for." I hand them to my brother and start to sit down next to our mother's bed. She's asleep right now, but when she wakes up I'll tell her that I got all my chores done and she'll be happy. Ed shakes his head.

"You're not done yet. I need you start getting ingredients together for soup. We'll have to make dinner tonight."

"Can't you-"

"I have to sit here to make sure mom's fever doesn't get too bad." I hardly get to sit with her. I don't like it when Ed doesn't let me near her, he tells me he's not keeping me from her, I'm just faster at getting everything together. She's my mother too, I can't understand why I can't help take care of her. She's been looking after us all our lives, I'd like to be there for her too. I guess brother has his reasons.

I go into the kitchen and start gathering everything we have, which is mostly vegetables. I hope Winry's grandma stops by again. She knows what to do with all this, sometimes she brings chicken soup for mom and we don't have to cook. I'm not really good at it but Brother says I do better than he does.

I returned to Brother and Mom, she's slowly waking up now and I want to tell her that she doesn't have to worry. I know she'll be proud. Ed shushes me as mom's eyes start to close again.

"Let her rest, Al. I know it's not easy but Mom's sick and it's good for her to sleep when she can."

"Yeah, I know but she's been asleep all day. I miss her." I drew my knees to my chest as I feel more tears forming. Ed puts an arm around me and pulls me closer.

"I know. Don't worry, everything's going to be okay, Alphonse." He promises. Ed's never let me down beforr so I have no reason not to trust him. He always knows how to make me feel better...other than mom, he's the one I trust most. He's the best brother anyone could have, he's always taken care of me too. I'm real lucky to have them and I don't know what I'd do without them...

It's dark now and Winry's grandma is here, she told Winry to stay at home so she didn't get sick. I heard her talking to mom, she's promising to keep an eye on us if something happens to her. Brother said the only thing that'll happen is that mom will get better and things will go back to normal. When she comes, brother gets to sleep she takes over for a while.

Ed hasn't been sleeping well since mom got sick, I think he's scared too. Mom hasn't eaten today and she seems to be getting worse. I hope Ed's right about everything being okay again. I just wish everything was okay right now. Mom says she feels bad that she can't take care of us right now, we try to tell her we understand. Even moms get sick sometimes. She tells us that she's very proud of us for showing her that we can look after each other and her too. I haven't been doing much though and I wonder if maybe she'd be disappointed if she knew...

It's been a long time now and Mom won't wake up. We were told that it's because her fever's too high. Ed's been watching her more closely, sometimes all night. We talk to her and hope she can hear us. Ed said he doesn't know if she can or not but it never hurts to try.

"Mom?" I call lowering myself onto the floor. "Mom it's me, Al. I just wanted to tell you that we love you and we're doing our best to keep up with our chores like you said. W-we need you and...please just come back. I don't know what we'd do without you. We're trying to find a way to make you better. Ed's trying to find dad for you, he thinks maybe he can help you. We know you miss him." I pause. "E-Ed's doing a really great job looking after me. You'd be so happy. I'm a little worried about him though. He doesn't get much sleep and he hardly ate yesterday. Did you hear him when he was reading your favorite book to you?" Ed joins me on the floor, taking Mom's hand.

"Don't worry, the sleep is good for her, it'll help." He assures me. I know he wants to keep me calm but his own calmness is starting to wear off. Mrs. Rockbel brought over some medicine earlier. She says she's impressed by the dedication we have.

"She's our mom, how can we not be here, she's done the same for us." Brother tells her.

He's right. I can't remember a single time in my life when i was sick and she didn't sit beside my bed until I was better. Brother was there too.

"You should try to get some sleep, little brother." Ed says. "I'll need your help tomorrow and it's going to be a long day."

"But-"

"For mom." He knows I'll do anything for mom. I stand up and go to my room without a word but I can't sleep. Brother is crying now, i can hear him faintly. Ed doesn't cry easily so I know something isn't right. I'm tempted to go out there and sit with him, but I give him his privacy. I wish I could do more for him. Brothers are supposed to be there for each other but he won't let me. I feel my eyes beginning to close and yawn. Hoping the new day brings good news...

I woke up to hear Mrs. Rockbel talking to brother. He's smiling today.

"It's a good sign that she was awake and talking to you, even if it was just a few words. You boys must be doing something right." Brother glares at her.

"I'm not completely useless you know." He complains. I notice he looks more tired than usual even since he hasn't slept much. He sips from his water slowly.

"So that means she's getting better?"

"It's too soon to tell for sure. But I'd say you've given her a good chance." I can't contain my excitement and I run to Ed throwing my arms around him.

"You did it, Brother." I cry.

"You helped. You did a lot of the important stuff around here and I'll make sure mom knows when she's better." He promises...

It's been a long road, but mom's fever broke and she's getting her strength back.

"I'm so proud of my boys." She pulled us into a hug. "Thank you. I love you both so much." She says she's grateful to us for everything we've done and she has the most wonderful sons ever. Mrs. Rockbel says she hasn't seen such an amazing turn with this illness and that it's likely to be over soon. I'll be happy when everything is normal again. She might even get out of bed soon.

"It won't be long now,Al." Ed tells me. I told you it would be okay." I'm starting to feel better about it now...

It's been a couple week but Mom's up. She made breakfast this morning. It was nice to wake up to hearing her call me and kiss my head like she did before.

"Come on, Alphonse, the food will be cold if you don't hurry." She says softly. I jump out of bed and hurry to the table. Ed's already there. He's a little pale and doesn't seem interested in his pancakes. Mom sits down next to him.

"Brother, are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He says. Mom reaches out to touch his forehead, but he pulls away.

"Edward, baby, can you help me straighten up in the other room?" Mom hasn't called us 'baby in a long time.

"I'll help." I offer taking another bite. Mom smiles at me.

"Thank you, but I need you to eat. Ed can handle it." She stood up and led him out of the kitchen. I can hear them but I can't really make out the words, she sounds worried. I finish breakfast and wait, Ed doesn't come back to the table. Mom sent him to bed.

"He just needs some sleep." She tells me but I can see it in her eyes, something isn't right. She grabs some paper and a pen,I can't see what she's writing. After a little while she folds the paper and gives it to me.

"I need you to this to Mrs. Rockbel. It's important can you do that?" I nod and she kisses my head.

"Good, go as quickly as you can."

"Mom,what's wrong?"

"There will be time for questions later,go on now." I hurry out the door and run the whole way,I want to know what the letter says,but I don't stop to find out. If mom says it's important and sends me out before chores, it can't be good. I just hope whatever it is isn't what I think.