I'm back! And continuing on with the next chapter of the After Story series (though hopefully you guys are still interested ^_^;;) I've had this chapter written for quite some time, but with finals, moving, life in general, and my own insecurities, I've been putting it off. Well thank you all for your reading and I hope you enjoy.

Also in case you are new, if the title is any indication this is PART 2, so if you haven't read part one on my profile, then I would recommend reading that before starting on this. You don't have to of course but like with any story it helps with certain character and world establishment.

Enjoy!

It started as a quiet day.

Edward enjoyed the rare occasions where he could sit back, relax, and get lost in one of his books. They were mainly textbooks and alchemic research notes, and Winry never failed to get on his case about it; "How can you just sit there and read formulas all day?" she would say shaking her head. True it's not like there were any real adventurous stories, or any stories at all for that matter. However, there was something about them that really drew Ed in, as if he himself could get up and perform these acts. Of course this was impossible ever since he gave up his gate and his ability to perform alchemy. It's not that he was trying to live in the past or regretting his decision, he could never regret what he did, but it was his own way to escape into another world where he could do alchemy. Looking at the transmutation circles and reading about what people have done allowed Ed to close his eyes and practically feel the lightning bolts of alchemy run through his fingertips. Did that sound a little corny? Probably, but if people can dream about flying in the sky or living in a house full of gold, then why couldn't Ed dream about this? It's not like he was bei-

"Ow!" Edward yelped and was taken out of his thoughts when he felt a rubber ball smack him right in the back of his head. He picked up the red bouncy ball and absentmindedly rubbed his scalp as he turned around to look where it came from. Lo and behold, his 5-year-old daughter Emma, and 7-year-old son Samuel were standing across from him with look of pure horror on their faces.

"Emma did it!" Sam quickly pointed at his younger sister to her shock.

"W-w-well you should have catched it!" Emma stammered.

"Why would I catch it if we're supposed to be fierce enemies?"

"Because then it would have hit you!"

"That's stupid!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"is not!"

"Is too!"

Edward sighed as he closed his book, got up, and walked around the sofa, facing his children who immediately went quiet when their father stood before them.

"You two made a big mistake, you know that?" Edward said in his sternest voice, causing both children to gulp in fear. Ed cleared his throat and lowered his head before he spoke, "Because you just disturbed the BIG BAD MONSTER!"

"Aaaahhh!" came the children's screams as Ed picked both of them up and fell back on the sofa with a loud thud.

"Get the monster!"

"Don't let him escape!"

"Ah I'm being ambushed!"

"Edward." The three stopped their 'battle' and looked up when they recognized an all too familiar voice, "What have I told you about rough housing with the children?"

"We're not children, mommy!" Emma stood up proclaiming, "We're brave warriors!"

"And we're trying to defeat the big bad monster!"

Winry let out a small laugh, "Is that so? Well, lunch is ready if the brave warriors are hungry."

"Yay!" The 'warriors' sprung off their father and ran to the kitchen, leaving Ed laying on the sofa with Winry crossing her arms in front of him.

"Hey, doesn't the big bad monster get lunch too?"

"That depends, is the big bad monster going to help clean the dishes afterwords?"

Ed sighed as he got up and stood and held his hands up in defeat. He had faced the strongest of adversaries, gone against the most powerful men in the world, stood before the face of god.

But there was absolutely no crossing nor defeating Winry Elric.

Meanwhile across the desert in the country of Xing, the long day was drawing to a close for the Chang clan of the southern region. It was incredible how much the clan had grown in the past few years. Thanks to Mei's leadership and help from Emperor Yao, they had gone from poverty stricken village to a prosperous community where many businesses and homes have taken more residence during the time of rebuilding the clan's good name. They were definitely in line to be one of the most powerful clans in all of Xing. Children were walking along the paths just getting out of school, and shopkeepers were getting ready to break down their stalls and stores. Overall there was a very peaceful air that came with the end of a work day.

But one person who was not at peace was an impatient Alphonse Elric who was anxiously pacing in front of a small clinic(getting the occasion side eye glance from passerby's) waiting for his wife, Mei, to be finished with her appointment. There had been a small bug going around the village and unfortunately Mei got right in the middle of it. It was curable of course, but she had never been so sick before in her life; she couldn't hold any food down, lightheadedness kept her from performing her duties, and she could never remember a time where she was so tired. So finally with Al and even her friend panda, Xiao Mei's insistence, she went to see a doctor.

Mei had been inside the clinic for a long time. Alphonse assumed the doctor would just give her some medicine and tell her to drink more fluids, but this was taking longer than he expected, much to his growing anxiety.

When Mei finally emerged from the clinic she was looking a lot better, glowing actually.

Alphonse stopped in his tracks and approached her "Well? Is everything okay? Did the doctor give you some medicine?"

Mei 's cheeks flushed a light rose color as she looked down, "Umm...I don't need medicine for this kind of sickness."

"What do you mean? What kind is it?"

Mei smiled as her blush grew redder, "It's...baby sickness."

"Baby sickness...?" Al repeated at a loss, "...Is that like a new virus...?"

"No!" Mei rolled her eyes exasperated, so finally Mei took Alphonse's hands and place them right on her lower abdomen. She raised her eyebrows at Al while he went through his thought process-

And then it hit him.

"No..."

Mei nodded her head.

"Are you serious?!"

Mei nodded more vigorously now.

"You're kidding!"

"No I'm not!" Mei practically yelled as she bounced in place.

"This is...This is-" Al never finished his sentenced because all he could do is grin as he lifted Mei off the ground and spun her in circles, laughing and celebrating.

"You-a-and me? We're going to be parents!"

They young couple didn't even care about the complete stares they were getting now, Mei even more so even though she was supposed to be a proper Xingese Princess and the respectful leader of the clan. But none of that mattered as the young couple felt like they were on cloud nine at that moment. They hadn't necessarily been trying, in fact they actually had been extra careful since they didn't want to have a honeymoon baby like Ed and Winry did, preferring to enjoy their first couple years of marriage and allow themselves to dedicate their time to the Chang clan. They definitely wanted children though, and with the villages having rebuilt themselves allowing Mei to have more downtime and Alphonse not as needed, this couldn't have come at a better time!

But of course Alphonse only had one thing on his mind at that moment.

He couldn't wait to tell Uncle Ed.