Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of its characters. The small village of Blackberry is made up (to my knowledge anyway), as is the Order of Saint Agnes church in the fictional town. I made this story for all Ed/Winry fans, and because I think their love was meant to be, (and because I love Vic, Ed's English voice actor).

The Sister and the Alchemist:

An FMA Fan Fiction.

Time: Three years after the 'Shambala Conquest'

Older brother: Age 21

Younger brother: Age 16 (body; Age 20 soul)

While Noah waved goodbye to the kind family who had given them a ride, Al yawned and stretched while Ed surveyed the new town they'd come to. It wasn't even a town, actually. It was like a medieval village, a handful of farms scattered about, a few other buildings he suspected were the local doctor, dairy, and the like, and a church down in the glade. After Alphonse dusted his clothes off and Noah walked over, Al looked up at his older brother, and asked, "Ed, what's this place?"

Ed looked at the sign, then a book he carried around. Since he and Al were from Amestris, whose language was equivalent to German. At first Al wasn't very good at English. Now he could speak it well, but he was still struggling with reading it. So he studied the translations, to make sure he was right, and said, "Blackberry."

"It sounds very lovely," Noah said as she linked her arm through Ed's. He blushed a little. Why did she always have to do that? Whenever she did that around strangers, they thought she and Ed were a couple. Truth was, Ed didn't have any real feelings for her…Sure, he cared about her in that she was a friend. He and Al needed her help to get across Europe, at least until they hit England…Then they would find the next boat off the continent to get to their ultimate goal…America…Immigrants seemed to be leaving in droves lately, in spite of the stock market crash. But Ed and Al were following leads on the Uranium Bomb, and the last man to give them their clue said, "Head to the States." Once there, Ed and his brother would go find another lead…And Noah could follow her dream…Living where she would be accepted. After all, America was the 'land of opportunity', right? But right now, the were in England…And right now…Ed's face fell as his stomach made a loud grumble.

"Oh man!" Ed cried, then he drooped down to his knees, clutching his roaring belly, "Why didn't we eat at the last stop?"

"Because the people in the town were chasing us, Ed!" Al said, leaning over him. "You had to go and yell at those vendors for calling you short!"

"BECAUSE I'M NOT SHORT, D- IT!!" Ed yelled back. "They're all just to d tall here!" Then both of their stomachs growled, and both young men fell onto the ground, whimpering. However, Noah then lifted her head, and said, "Look, there's smoke coming from the church." Then both Elrics sat up and sniffed…Then started to drool.

"Bread…" Ed said, eyes filled with hunger.

"Fresh Pies…" Alphonse said, looking hopeful, like a puppy.

"FOOD!" cried out Edward, jumping up and running down the road.

"Brother! It'll be at least an hour before we get there!" Alphonse cried after him, chasing his brother. "Yeah, but by the time we get there we can get all the food we want!" Ed called back. This made Al run faster, and though both of them had a huge head start, Noah started after them both. By the time they made it down to the end of the long road, the pavement had ended and given way to a large dirt track. Heir feet were kicking up dust in the dry summer air until they stood a few feet, huffing and puffing, in front of an old church….and as a woman dressed in a black dress with a black and white head covering told them, it was a Catholic Church. Quite a rarity in England, as some would think. But neither of the brothers noticed that, or the car sitting not too far away with a pair of legs sticking out from under it. Ed and Al took a few minutes to catch their breath before going up to the window their noses said the kitchen was at. As they peeked inside, they saw at least three women working on not just bread and pies, but a large pot of soup! Ed was thanking who or whatever had guided them here when Al, coming out of a similar stupor, started tugging his sleeve.

"Um….Big Brother…" Al meeped, tugging harder.

"Not now, Al," Ed said, "Maybe we can go in and ask them for some food…"

"That would be a good idea," said a voice that was neither brother, nor Noah, but was familiar nonetheless, "But first, who in The Lord's Creation are you, and what are you doing here?"

Ed whipped around, and screamed, "PINAKO?!"

The little old woman, dressed in nun garb, with a very large, heavy looking rosary around her neck, raised an eyebrow, then she muttered, "Close. Panaka, or rather Mother Superior of The Order of St. Agnes, Blackberry church….How you even have an idea of what my birth name is, I don't know…Especially since you three are obviously strangers, and most likely up to no good."

"We're not up to anything!" Al said defensively, waving his hands, "We're just traveling, and we got hungry and smelled the food inside."

"Cut us some slack, Pi- I, I mean…Maam," Ed said, moving up beside his little brother. "We're tired, we're hungry, and we don't have any money…"

"And I suppose you expect us to give you food and rest…?" the Mother Superior asked. Ed and Al looked at her, both eyes big and puppy-ish. She sighed, then smiled at them, "You are all quite lucky I am a Mother Superior, otherwise I would have driven you lot off with a broom…Sisters," she called into the window, "We've some wayward travelers in need." One of the girls inside came out, dusting her flour covered hand on her equally flour coated apron. Mother Panaka looked up at Ed, Al, and the so far quiet Noah, then said, "This is sister Sheska. She'll be helping you out." Ed and Al looked. It was Sheska alright. Glasses and all…Oddly the habit and cross fitted her. Suddenly, a loud whistling and various bangings came from the kitchen, and the other girls inside started screaming.

"Mother Panaka!" cried one woman, covering her ears, "It's the boiler again!"

Mother Panaka sighed, "Not again….I pray and pray it won't break again, and yet the Lord seems to say no to that one," she said, then she walked around and over to the car. She bent a little, then said, "Winifred, the boiler's giving us trouble again."

"Alright, Mother, I'm just about finished here anyway," said the slightly muffled voice. The legs scooted out, revealing a skirt that went down to about the girl's calves, and soon out came a young lady, her left cheek sporting a smear of grease, "I swear, that priest had better be glad I come down here to fix this pile of junk…"

"Wi….Winry…" Ed said aloud. He hadn't even known he'd said it, either. The second he saw her pop out from under the automobile, he'd thought he'd been dreaming. But she was here. She was standing right there, and even though she was in a skirt, she looked like she always did…And yet…He couldn't help but feel as if a rock had hit him hard in the chest. Behind him, AL was just as silent and dumbfounded. Then she looked over at them, giving Noah a glance, but her eyes stayed on Al and Ed. A look passed over her face like she was trying to place them, somewhere, me…?" she asked, taking a step forward. "Have we met before? You.. you know my nickname, but…I can't seem to remember you." Ed's face fell a little, then Winry laughed, "I'm sorry. I saw you and I had this really bad moment of de ja vou."

"Winifred," Mother Panaka said, "The boiler?"

"Oh! Right! Hold on!" Winry called out to those coming out of the church, due to the noise inside. Ed turned and watched every move she made. Suddenly his memory went back to the moment he and Winry, the one from Amestris, the one he and Al had grown up with, had been together. She'd hugged him so tight…She'd given him the arm and leg he was still using. All this time, some of the nuns had gathered around them, two talked to Noah, while some fussed at how adorable Al was. Al was blushing badly at the attention, and he was also looking back to the church.

"Winry…" Ed whispered softly again.

Winry Rockwell had her arms stretched upward as she tightened another bolt. The church boiler had been in bad condition ever since she was a little girl, long before her parents had died. She grunted as she pulled the wrench one more time, then she flopped down onto the floor and used a clean handkerchief to wipe off her face. When she looked down, it wasn't clean anymore. As she stuffed it back in her pocket, she looked at the floor, and her mind wandered. Those people outside…a gypsy woman and two boys…It was the boys who boggled her mind. They looked so familiar, and yet, she couldn't come up with any names for them. She was sure she'd never met them before…Then there was that look. The look on the taller one's face hadn't bothered her, really, she could tell from the slightly babyish shape of his face he was still a kid. It was the shorter one who bothered her. And how did he know her name? At least, the nickname she used so much. "Who is he?" she asked herself as she reached up and released her hair from her ponytail. That man's eyes…They were such an unusual color, she'd never known anyone with gold eyes before. Eyes like those stick with you, they…haunt.

"A pure young maid's blush?" asked a voice from the doorway. "Are you having impure thoughts in God's house, Miss Winry?" Winry's head shot up, and she laughed nervously.

"Oh, Father Mustang, I didn't hear you comeing…" she said as the tall, dark haired man walked in. He sort of loomed over her while she got up and wiped her hands on her skirt, "I was just…Trying to remember something."

"Just keeping an eye on you, my child," Father Mustang said as he put a hand on her shoulder, "As I do all the people in the village…I was just interested because I saw you talking to one of those three strangers outside."

Winry blushed again as she stuck her wrench in the tool box near the door, "I just…He knew my name, and I'd never met him before."

"Perhaps he heard it from Mother Panaka?"

"No…He knew my nickname…Only my parents and some of the children know that one…"

"Perhaps they know the Tringams? Russel and Fletcher know you prefer being called Winry."

Winry shook her head, "They couldn't have. They're both out of town…I just don't know," she said, crossing her arms, looking at her feet. She took a few steps on, then realized the preist was no longer walking with her. She stopped and looked behind, and saw him looking inside a doorway. She came back, and looked into the kitchen were the three strangers were eating…Or….rather, the gypsy woman was eating. As she talked to Mother Panako, she seemed to have a kind face. The two boys, though…The younger one had blue and black berry smeared all over his mouth and chin, while the older one was nawing on two different loafs of bread. When Sister Sheska came over with two bowls of soup, the boys grabbed them, and said simultaneously, "Thank you!" before drinking it down. The sight, for some reason, cheered her heart. She let out a loud giggle. Instantly, the two stopped shoveling food, and looked up at her. It was that look from before, on both of them. She stopped laughing, blushed again, then said, "Um…Welcome to Blackberry…I hope you're both getting enough to eat."

"Mhm, Mrfmmm germ…" Al said with a full mouth, then he swallowed, took a breath, and said, "Its all really good! Thank you." Ed, meanwhile, hadn't said anything yet. A few seconds ago, he'd been floating, thinking he was in heaven because he was getting such a big, hot meal. Now, well…He was somehow distracted by how long and shiny this Winry's hair was. Was the other Winry's hair so long and shiny…He hated that he'd never noticed before. As he looked at this world's Winry, he couldn't help but think, She looks cute when she blushes.

"Um…yeah…its really good," Ed finally said. Winry looked down, one hand reaching up, smoothing her hair down. Someone coughed behind her, then she looked over her shouder, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry…This is our priest, Father Mustang. He came here three years ago."

That snapped Ed out off his admiration of Winry's bright blue eyes. "Muh…Mustang?!" Al exclaimed, at the same time Ed said, "Priest?!"

AN: That's it for now. More coming. I promise. This one will not go unwritten!