This is an alternative ending to the amazing story "Stairway to Paradise" by the amazing RainFlame! (I got the premission to post this, so thank you so very much!) Please read the original story before reading this, as it won't make sense without context. I don't know if you can add links, but you can find the original story on here, and at x-RainFlame-x on Deviant Art!

The character Dr. Silas is 100% credited to RainFlame. He's so much fun!

(Re-visited 15/05-18 for some cleaning up- the layout looked too messy)

Ed was sat in his wheelchair, slowly being pushed by his little brother towards the platform for the train, heading east towards Xing.

The weather was cold, autumn seemed to be on the verge to winter. It had stopped raining the day before, much to Ed's pleasure, as this rain season had been expecially painfull on his already weakened and damaged stumps. His automail ports had been removed completely on his last hospital stay. He felt betrayed by his body, having started to reject the automail, though knowing it was his own fault for not putting on enough weight for his body to be able to handle the though metal and the heavy limbs. He supposed he didn't need them anymore, as he didn't even have his eyesight.

His last transmutation had almost killed him, trying to protect Roy from that damned humunculus, Envy. With his automail arm completely destroyed, leaving only the part from his sholder to his elbow, he had drawn a transmutation circle with his own blood on his chest, and tried to transmute his arm into a blade. It had worked, somewhat. But it hadn't only made it a blade outwards, but also into his sholder, almost severing a major artery.

But, not having to be confied to this wheelchair would be nice. It was hard, not only being unable to see where he was going, but also completely unable to get there without being pushed in that stupid chair. Oh, how he hated that chair.

Al stopped along the traintracks, and Ed jumped in his seat as the train let out a burst of steam, holding tightly onto his blanket that was spread over his feet, with his one hand.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al's face grimaced into a conserned look. He kneeled down to his knees to be at eyelevel with his big brother, carefully placing his hand on his arm. Colonel Roy Mustang, coming up behind them with a worried look on his face.

"I'm fine. I just.. I wasn't prepared." he panced.

"You sure? I can postphone this trip for a while longer, I don't have to.."

"Stop it", Ed cut him off. "Of course you're going. You've been planning this for the last year. I'll be fin- I am fine!" Al and Roy's eyes met, Roy giving him an affirmative nod.
Al surrendered with a sigh.

"Okay," Al muttered.

Ed stared into the ground, and Al felt guilty for abandoning his own brother and only family, in this state. This past year had probably been their roughest so far. Even rougher than the year their mother died, and the following events. Alphones didn't want to think about that now.

Ed's time in that basement last year had almost killed him. Maybe it had, in some ways. But his big brother had slowly, after so much hardship, made it back to life. Even with his sight lost and more recently, the abilty to walk.

Well, the walking part had been kind of a problem on and off the past years anyway. Al chuckled abit to himself from that thought. He wouldn't pass it along to his brother though, if he wanted to keep the abilty to walk himself.

"Either way, you don't want that girlfriend of yours to wait any longer." Ed smirked.

"Mei's not..." Al protested, with a slight blush to his cheeks, only to be met by a small snort from Ed. He'd been exchanging letters with a Xing girl, who seemed to know a lot about alkahestry.

"Al, you're gonna miss your train." Roy intervined, with a smile on his lips. Al sighed, his sholders rising as he got back to his feet.

"I'm gonna miss you," Al told Ed, and shifted his look to Roy. "Both of you."

"We're going to miss you too, Al," Roy said. Ed had lowered his head again. Not wanting to reveal the tears that had started to burn in his misty eyes.

"Ed?" Alphones asked with conserne.

"I'm sorry," Ed wimpered, silently.

"Why.. What for?"

"I'm not trying to make it hard for you to leave. It's... it's for my sake after all. But, I...I want you to enjoy it too, now that you've got your body back. I don't want you to feel guilty for enjoying yourself."

There was a swift feeling of panic as Ed felt his too-big coat being tugged at, and he felt himself being lifted from his wheelchair, his only leg struggeling to place itself on the ground, and his arm automatically trying to catch something to redeeme his balance. Arms wrapped around his body, and he fought the instinct to fight them off and try to get away.

"Thank you, brother." Al whispered, and Ed's mind snapped back.

'This is safe. There are no one here that wants to hurt me.'

He felt his brothers tall and strong body, and it's warm embrace and he was finally able to hug him back. After the long hug, Al carefully sat his brother back in the chair, and turned with glossy eyes towards the colonel.

"Bye, Colo...Must.. uuuh, R..Roy," Al stuttered while raising his right hand awkwardly in a military salute. Roy looked at him with tired onyx eyes and stopped Al's motion, giving him a long hug. This time it was Al's turn to be surprised by the closeness. Roy noted that Al had almost grown taller than him now, and was still did not seem to have any plans of stopping his growthspurt in the near future. No wonder, as the boy was eating as for making up for every meal he couldn't eat, being trapped in that armor. Well, maybe he was.

They let go of eachother as the steam-engined train let out a loud whistle, annoncing that it was time to board. Roy and Al both took a quick glance at Ed, making sure he hadn't been startled. He seemed okay, but clutched his hand to his blanket, reminding himself where he was. Al picked his suitcase off the ground.

"Well, I guess this is good bye for now."

"Remember to call as soon as you can." Ed told him, looking in the wrong direction, disoriented by all the noise around them.

"Of course I will." Al smiled, making sure his voice sounded as genuenly as he meant it and boarded the train.

"Roy?" Ed asked, looking around as if something was blocking his view.

"Hm?" Roy answered, looking for Al in the windows of the train.

"Please, could you tell me when to wave? I want to wave him off."

"Sure, Fullmetal."

After he had helped Ed get into the passangerseat of his car, Roy dissasembled the wheelchair into the trunk. They had a long day ahead of them at the hospital. Ed's first appointment was in half an hour.

Roy couldn't say he was looking forward to the blood tests. Fighting humunculus, being trapped for several months and surviving in that basement, trying to bring his own mother back to life using alchemy, losing and arm and a leg and his little borthers entire body in the act, almost bleeding to death and in intense agony, still being levelheaded enough to bind his brothers soul to an armor, automail surgery as an eleven year old child and still- the boy was deathly afraid of needles.

Roy dreaded it. He sighed heavily as he opened the door and sat down in his car, closing his eyes for just a minute, and massaging his temples with his hands. It had been such a long night. Ed had terrible nightmares, his anxiety being high knowing his brother was going on his trip the next day. He was hard to get back to reality. His mind was always stuck somewhere dark, re-living the horrific acts of torture inside his dreams.

Al and himself had taken turns, sleeping in shifts for the entire night to be there every time Ed woke up, panicked, sobbing and completely blind. Roy hadn't been able to sleep at all.

"Uh, Colonel?" he heard Ed's voice ask.

"Yeah, just a minute, kid." he answered, still closed eyes trying to massage away the lingering migrain.

What was he going to do with Ed while he was at work, now that Alphones wasn't there anymore?

"Okay," Ed replied briefly. Something sounded off, and Mustan opned his eyes.

He startled, not understanding where he was.

"What the..." He mumbled in surprise, as he realised he had gotten in the backseat of his own car.

Thank you so much to anyone who is reading! I'm not sure how many parts this will be, as I am currently pretty inspired and have a lot of ideas. I'm always open to constructive critisism, and suggestions, so feel free to leave a review!