They All Lived Story 8: Inner Turmoil

by LadyWordsmith

Alphonse must face up to his crush. Winry and Ed are waiting for the birth of their second child, and Edward must deal with health issues he never expected!

September 1st 1930

"Mommy!" Sara squealed as she grabbed Winry's legs in a big hug as she entered the house.

"Careful, kiddo!" Winry laughed as she braced herself.

"Yeah," Ed laughed, closing the door behind Winry and grabbing Sara, tossing her up in the air briefly before giving her a hug. "You don't want to knock Mommy over," he grinned playfully at Winry. "It makes her grouchy. Besides, she might pop!"

"Really?" Sara's eyes went wide. "Like a balloon?"

"Very funny, Edward," Winry glared at him and sighed. "No, Sara, not really. Daddy's being silly again." She gave him a warning look.

Ed chuckled and nodded. He knew when to quit! "Mommy's right," he said, putting her down. "Why don't you go play with Chase and Oscar in the back yard for a while? I'm sure they'd both love a game of fetch."

"Okay, Daddy!" Sara nodded eagerly; then ran down the hall into the living room towards the back door. "Chase! Oscar! Let's go play!"

Ed heard the skittering of dog feet on the wooden floors, then the door opening and closing. He turned back to Winry and smiled. "So, how'd it go?"

Winry shrugged as they walked into the living room. "We're right on schedule," she said, sounding exasperated.

Ed smiled sympathetically as he helped her lower herself down into the easy chair. "Another two weeks huh?"

"At least!" Winry exclaimed.

Sara had been perfectly content to stay snuggled up in Winry's womb for two weeks past her due date. Ed hoped for all their sakes that this one was a little timelier in arrival! He knew Winry was sick of being pregnant. "Maybe this one will be more cooperative," Ed chuckled.

"I hope so," Winry propped her feet up on the foot stool they had recently bought for just that purpose. "It's frustrating. I have to do almost everything at work sitting down, and I really hate being this big!"

Ed kissed her cheek, and dared a pat to her belly. The wiggles and thumps he could often feel lately still amazed him; he felt guilty about that a little though given how uncomfortable they made Winry. "Well, you look great," he replied.

"Really?" The look she gave him said she wanted to believe him, that she was sure he really felt that way, and that she was mostly convinced that Ed may have completely taken leave of his senses!

"Would I lie?" Ed asked with a shrug and a grin.

"Yes," Winry retorted.

"Well I'm not," Ed promised. "There's just something sexy about you having my kid. Just like last time." He had a lot of respect for mothers, the miracle they performed in bringing a baby into the world; when that woman was Winry well…. That was a whole other level. He'd never expected to find that attractive in quite the way he did, but he had certainly understood Maes Hughes a little better after the first time Winry had been pregnant!

Winry gave him one more suspicious look; then smiled. "You're crazy, but I'm glad you are."

"Can I get you anything?" Ed offered. "Snack? Drink? Auto-mail that needs to be finished?" He tossed the last one out partially as a joke, though he certainly wouldn't put it past her.

"Tempting," Winry replied. "Juice, please. And if this 'ever' happens again," she gave him a slightly dangerous look. "Remind me not to be pregnant during the hot part of the year."

"Duly noted," Ed grinned. He stood up and went to get her something to drink. When he came back, he could see Sara and the dogs playing fetch in the back yard. That was the nice thing about their house; he could see the entire yard, which was well fenced, and know that Sara was all right. Even though her arm had healed up, he found himself more protective of her than before, and he had to work not to be 'too' protective.

Winry was watching Sara play too.

"Here you go," Ed handed her the glass and sat down at the end of the couch nearest the chair. "There's that dinner tomorrow night at the Officer's club; the one for the Cretan dignitaries and the new trade agreement. Do you want to try and come, or would you rather beg off?" Not that Ed was thrilled about going, but Mustang had directly requested –not ordered, fortunately – his presence, and he felt he should probably go, even if he was likely being trotted out as a 'State treasure' as much as a ranking military officer. He'd given up minding, and just enjoyed the celebrity.

Winry sighed. "Normally, I'd love to go," she admitted. "Who knows what new auto-mail contacts I could make, or deals," she added. "But I certainly don't have anything appropriate that fits at the moment, and I doubt I'd be very good company." She smirked at him. "I'm sure you could find someone else to escort if you need a pretty girl at your side to protect you."

Ed laughed. "Stay home and relax. Then at least one of us will be sure to have a good time!" And be comfortable. This wasn't a uniform occasion, but it was black-tie. Ed was beginning to wonder if dignitaries wouldn't just prefer getting drinks at the local pub. He knew most of Amestris' officers would! "Just make sure you call the Club if you need me!"

"Oh don't worry," Winry smirked. "I will; though I seriously doubt this one will be making any sudden entrances in the next couple of days." She rubbed her stomach the way she normally did when the baby was active. Lately that seemed to be the case every time she sat down or just stopped moving in general.

"Want me to make dinner?" Ed offered. He certainly didn't think it was fair, or good, to have Winry standing in the kitchen for long periods of time. It was well beyond weird still having to consider if Winry was 'up' to doing something. She was strong, and healthy, and reasonably energetic it seemed most of the time, but this late in the game, she got tired more easily than usual, and her ankles and feet and back –and various other things- ached regularly.

"Don't worry about it," Winry shook her head. "Elicia insisted she was going to cover that this evening."

"Oh?" Ed didn't ask what Elicia had in mind. He suspected Winry knew little more than he did. "All right then. How about I see about giving you a little massage instead then," he offered, grinning. That would be a much better way to spend the extra time in the day that gave them. "See if we can make you more comfortable."

"You really are a 'hero' of the people," Winry sighed, smiling. "If you can work a little 'magic,'" she teased. "My back is killing me!"

By the time the doorbell rang over an hour later, Ed had managed to relieve the worst of Winry's backache, and worked on her legs as well. It was amazing the quality of massage one could give with an auto-mail limb. Ed had teased her if that was what she had originally had in mind when she designed his arm; and she had just laughed and said 'maybe.'

Ed left her lying on the couch and went to answer the door. He opened it and found Elicia and – perhaps he shouldn't be surprised? – Alphonse standing outside. He grinned. "Hey Elicia; Al." He gave his brother a curious look as Elicia slipped in past him.

"Hi Edward!" she said as she went inside, her arms laden with bags of groceries. "Hi Winry!" And she was down the hall and into the living room, chatting with Winry before Ed could say another word.

Ed chuckled and looked over at his brother. He smirked. "Should I take this as a sign of some kind?"

"What? No!" Alphonse blushed slightly before getting control of it. "I was leaving the apartment as she was leaving the shop. She said she could use a little help figuring out what to fix you guys for dinner," he shrugged and grinned. "I suggested she'd be good with anything she could make in bulk."

Ed socked his brother in the arm. "Very funny."

Al laughed and rubbed his arm, even though Ed doubted it had really hurt much. "Between you, Winry right now, and a growing kid, it seemed a safe bet."

Ed couldn't really argue with that logic. Still, he shrugged. "I'm not that bad," he disagreed, disgruntled. Not as bad as it had been when he was a teenager at least! Well, usually not. Their work wasn't exactly sedentary; not with the amount of physical work they did with their students, especially the newer State Alchemists and their lessons in using alchemy combatively – mostly defensive and 'in' combat situations.

Al chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Ed. I was kidding mostly. Still, she dragged me along."

"Like you really minded," Ed smirked again; giving his brother a little dig to get even. "Have you even talked to her yet? You know, about you know what?"

"Well, no," Al admitted, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "It hasn't really come up. I mean there hasn't been a good time."

"It's been almost six months, Al," Ed pointed out, sighing and feeling a little exasperated with his brother. "You're been uncharacteristically indecisive."

"Why are you so stressed out about it?" Al frowned, shrugging. "It's not your problem."

"Family problems are my problems," Ed retorted. "You and she both fall into that category in different ways, and no matter how old we get, you'll always be my little brother." He would always love his brother and care about his happiness, even when Al irritated him!

Al sighed and smiled, running a hand through his hair. "It's just hard. I keep thinking I should just drop it, but I haven't been able to."

Ed shook his head with a rueful expression. "Then you'd really better figure it out. Otherwise she's going to notice anyway. Elicia's pretty observant."

"Are you guys coming?" Elicia's voice came back down the hall. "Or aren't you hungry?" she added teasingly.

Ed gave his brother a 'told you so' nod and headed down the hall. "Hold on, you impatient little brat! We're coming."

Elicia laughed. "Good. You can give me a hand with this stuff!"

Dinner turned out to be a delicious spread of well seasoned chicken, pasta, and vegetables. Ed and Alphonse chopped vegetables and set the table while Elicia whipped up a meal to rival her mother's kitchen skills.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Ed asked the young woman with a laugh after he had polished off his meal later.

"I'm not good at beating up on people," Elicia teased right back. "But then," she grinned. "I don't have to be. If I had to…"

"Are we sure we should be trusting her with tools?" Ed laughed, looking over at Winry.

Winry shrugged and grinned. "You trust me."

"About as far as I can carry you," Ed winked. There was a proportional difference in her rationale when she was or was not pregnant! He was strong enough to carry her in either instance though if it were ever necessary.

"And me Daddy?" Sara looked up, eyes wide. "You trust me as far as you can carry me?"

Ed laughed, ruffling his daughter's hair with one hand. "Always." He knew full well how far he could carry his baby girl!

Sara giggled and shook her head. "Stop, Daddy!"

"Why don't you go feed the dogs, pumpkin," Ed suggested.

"Okay." Sara hopped down and the two dogs followed eagerly into the kitchen, tails going at full speed.

"It's like she has her own escort," Elicia chuckled. "That's so cute."

"Yeah," Ed grinned. "They hardly ever leave her alone." This was actually a comfort to him at this point. Silly as that was, given they only followed her around the house and the safety of her own back yard.

"Well, I should probably get going," Elicia smiled as she stood up, picking up her plate to take it back to the kitchen. "I promised Mom I'd help her bake pies for the charity bake sale she's helping out with."

"I should probably get out of your hair too," Al grinned. "See you tomorrow, Brother. Should be fun."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Just the way I want to spend my evening."

"Oh you'll have more fun than you think," Al chuckled. "I bet you secretly enjoy it."

"Yeah right," Ed scoffed. "Standing around in a formal suit listening to windbags blather on about their glory days and the wheat market? Biting my tongue to keep from saying something that might interfere with world peace?"

"Cause you know," Winry smirked. "Ed's tongue could easily start a war."

Al and Elicia both laughed as they cleared the table and headed out. Ed watched them go; hoping Al got things figured out soon. It worried him that Alphonse was still hesitating; it was a sign of just how much this was messing with his brother's head.

It wasn't too long of a walk from Edward's house to the Hughes'. Elicia still lived with her mother, mostly because it was still convenient and cheaper than getting her own place! So, since it was also on the way if Al walked all the way to his place, it made sense to walk home with Elicia.

Ed's words were stuck in his mind. Of course, Elicia had been on Al's mind a lot lately. Every time he thought he had determined he was just going to stop thinking about her and move on, the rest of him refused to cooperate. It was a frustrating situation he had never found himself in before, and it scared Al to consider what that might mean.

Well, he could always just give it a try and see what happened. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure Elicia wasn't just being polite and pretending not to notice his recently developed fascination with her. What was the worst that could happen really? Ed seemed sure that Gracia wouldn't be too upset if her little girl ended up with someone older, as long as it was someone 'safe.' Al wasn't really worried about embarrassing the Hughes', or keeping things perfectly gentlemanly. He just didn't want to ruin the friendship he did have with Elicia.

He was thinking about maybe inviting her to the dinner tomorrow night, he didn't have anyone to take at the moment – though he knew several girls he could probably have called who would have adored going – and he could, of course, bring a guest if he wished.

"So, what do you think the Cretan President's like?" Elicia asked.

Al blinked. He had completely missed that she had started talking to him! "I'm sorry. What?"

"Aren't you oblivious today," Elicia chuckled. "You are going to the State Dinner tomorrow evening right?"

"Well, yeah," Al nodded and shrugged. "It would be pretty silly not to show up, and I'm kind of expected to be there, just like Ed is."

Elicia nodded. "That's what Winry said. I'm glad she's not going though. She really wouldn't have any fun right now. Though I can't wait!"

"You're going?" Al asked, momentarily perplexed.

Elicia nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Second Lieutenant Braun asked me."

Carl Braun was one of the newer additions to President Mustang's personal staff. Nice, bright young man; a little serious perhaps, but given the position he had just landed in, Al couldn't really blame him. Though he also didn't really see him as Elicia's 'type.' Not that he had any idea what her type was!

"That's nice," Al smiled, glad he hadn't out and out asked her to go. He'd saved himself a little embarrassment.

"He's a nice guy," Elicia chuckled. "A little formal, but I really wanted to go. I suspect Uncle Roy may have put him up to it."

"What makes you think so?" Al asked.

Elicia shrugged. "I think Carl finds me a little intimidating." She looked amused, her green eyes dancing. "Really, I think he needs someone more like a younger version of Mom; quietly elegant, subdued, the perfect lady and military wife."

"You're not exactly rough stone," Al replied, a little surprised at Elicia's comments.

"Thanks, Alphonse," Elicia's smile widened. "I know I can be all those things, but really, I like being able to use my mind and express my opinions openly. I'd make a better military officer than a wife." She laughed at that.

Al knew a lot of the guys in the military had married girls more like Gracia; who Al knew full well had as many opinions and ideas as any other woman, was as clever and insightful; she just had a very slow fuse, and had chosen to be what she needed to be in support of the military man she loved. "No one minds Winry," he pointed out.

"Ed's so much of an exception to the norm already, what were they going to do, object?" Elicia shook her head. "Besides, Winry had the good sense to marry him as soon as she finally caught up with him again. They couldn't have argued about his choice of wife if they wanted to; especially not when Mustang and all his staff were saying it was about time!"

Al chuckled. He had felt the same way, and had only been briefly surprised when his brother had informed him that they needed to delay their trip back to Munich for a couple of days. When he had learned why, it had been very difficult not to laugh in his brother's face. Mind? At that point, if Ed had tried to delay Al probably would have dragged him to the church himself! "It was an interesting reunion," he commented.

"I wish I could have seen it," Elicia smiled, and then blushed. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," Al assured her.

"So, who are you taking?" Elicia asked as they came around the corner and the house came into view.

"Oh, I don't know," Al tried to play it casual. "I haven't actually asked anyone yet. It's not like anyone's going to skin me if I don't ask, you know?"

Elicia laughed. "Only the dozens of ladies dying to attend a State affair with the dashing Brigadier General." She was teasing him now!

Al felt his face get warm. "Hardly dozens," he replied.

"Sorry, Al," Elicia giggled when she looked at him. "It's true though. I hear it all the time from my friends, from soldiers in the military – be it compliments or with envy depending on the gender; there's an awful lot of girls out there practically dreaming about being yours. Sure, a lot of them barely know you," she shrugged. "So a lot of that is based on looks and reputation. But then," she grinned wickedly. "Neither of those really need exaggeration by rumors do they?"

Now Al was sure his face was turning bright pink. There were some days he hated being fair skinned! "That doesn't exactly make things easier for me," he admitted, sounding a little grumpier than he meant to.

Elicia's expression changed to a kinder one. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that would bother you. I thought you knew."

Intellectually, Al had been aware of some of it; he wasn't oblivious the way Ed could be when it came to women. Still, it was a little frustrating when, while he was meeting all sorts of perfectly lovely girls who he enjoyed talking with, and a couple of them had been nice little romances, none of them were really what he considered 'marriage' material. Not to him anyway. They had never connected on that level. He didn't find himself thinking about any of them "I do," he finally replied to Elicia as they stopped outside the house. "I'm just getting a little tired of 'meeting' lots of girls. I do that all the time; but nothing ever really seems to pan out."

"Maybe you'll meet someone new and exciting going stag to this thing then," Elicia smiled. "Hey! Why don't you come in and help Mom and me make pies! There's going to be apple, blackberry, and cherry! We could use the help; Mom promised two dozen."

"Pies?" Al groaned and smiled. "I'm still full from dinner!" He was grateful for the change in topic.

"Good," Elicia grabbed his hand and pulled. "Then we don't have to worry about ingredients going missing!"

Al gave in and followed; after all, what else could he do? He smiled and just decided to enjoy himself.

September 2nd, 1930

Despite his protests to the contrary, Edward found himself enjoying the State Dinner. He had become surprisingly adept at social mingling over the years. He liked people in general, when they weren't giving him orders and acting like asses; he had also discovered that deftly outwitting folks with clever tongue and mind was almost as satisfying as a good punch to the face. It improved his image instead of the opposite as well. They ate first, and that served to relax everyone. Folks pleasantly full and plied with a little fine alcohol tended to get along well!

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were enjoying this, Fullmetal."

Ed smirked as he turned to face Roy. "Have you been into the wine, Mr. President?" he teased, holding up his own glass. "'Cause I'm sure you're hallucinating." If Roy had called him General, he would have responded more formally. At this point, the use of his second name versus his other title had become kind of a code for when things were serious or congenial in public. Their long history working together was hardly a secret after all.

Roy actually chuckled. "No more than you. Actually, Edward, I'd like to introduce you to someone." It was then that Ed noticed there was someone standing next to Roy, and it was someone he had already identified that evening; the new President of Creta! "This is President Elias Argyros of Creta. Elias, I would like to introduce General Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Edward held out his hand as Elias extended his and shook Ed's hand with warm enthusiasm. Elias was about Mustang's age, with dark brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin and a friendly grin. "A pleasure to meet you, President Argyros."

"The pleasure is mine," Argyros said first in a pleasant Cretan accent. "And please, just Elias." He gave Ed a conspiratorial grin. "I told Roy here we should have just gone for beer but, of course, he had a point when he suggested that the rest of our governments might be offended if they didn't get to play as well."

Ed couldn't help but laugh. "Isn't that the truth?" He had the feeling he was going to like this guy. "So I guess that just means if we ever visit Creta, we can go for beers instead? Fair's fair."

"Absolutely," Elias chuckled. "Though I suggest we leave the ladies elsewhere." He glanced over and Ed followed his eyes. Riza and a lovely Cretan woman that Ed guessed was Elias' wife were talking animatedly about something.

"Wise," Roy commented drolly, sipping from his glass.

"Is your wife here this evening, Edward?" Elias asked. "I was hoping to have a word with her about auto-mail. Creta's industry is woefully behind Amestris in that area, and I was hoping to discuss the matter with someone of her acclaimed expertise."

Winry was going to like this guy too. Ed smiled but shook his head with honest regret. "I'm afraid not."

"I am sorry to hear that," Elias replied. "I hope she is well."

Ed chuckled. "Winry's fine, thanks. We've just a baby due anyday," he shrugged.

Elias nodded, and chuckled as well. "Ah! Congratulations then, and I understand completely. We have two sons. Calla wasn't particularly social so late in her time either," he smiled. "Your first?"

Ed shook his head. "Second. We have a little girl; she's three."

"Ah! The same age as my youngest," Elias said.

"Should we start arranging the engagement?" Roy quipped.

Ed rolled his eyes, and Elias kept chuckling. "This is about diplomatic relations isn't it, Roy?" Elias commented.

Roy shrugged and then grinned. "Of course. That was really my whole diplomatic strategy all along you know. I figured if I saddled you with Edward as an in-law, your government would be too busy dealing with the repercussions to notice as we fleeced you."

Ed hoped Elias got the joke, and was relieved when the other man roared with laughter. Roy's sense of humor could be a little subtle at times, or hard as a sledgehammer. "Hey," he shot Roy a glare he didn't really feel. "You can't sell off my loyalties so easily; or my daughter. Marry off your own kid. Oh right," he smirked. "Wrong gender."

"Thank goodness," Roy said.

As they talked, Ed heard the live music strike up. He looked out on the dance floor as mostly younger officers and diplomats, and a few married couples, took to the floor. The girls looked like a garden of dew-covered flowers, Ed thought, in vivid colors and sparkling jewelry. Of course, in his mind, Winry easily outshone them all, but there were a lot of very beautiful women in attendance. Unfortunately, he would likely be obliged to dance with a few as part of 'diplomatic relations.' Okay well, perhaps that wasn't unfortunate, but he would have much rather been dancing with Winry. He was less likely to be swarmed when she was around!

As Ed watched them take to the floor, he spotted a familiar girl with Second Lieutenant Braun. "Hey, Roy," he commented. "Did Braun bring Elicia tonight?"

Roy nodded. "He did." There was an interesting note in his voice.

Ed gave him a look. "You have something to do with that?"

Roy's expression became smug. "You know me too well."

Elias looked between them, and looked out at the floor. Elicia was dancing nearby and was clearly visible. "Is this unusual?" he asked.

"Elicia Hughes," Roy gestured to her so it was clear who they were referring to. "The daughter of deceased Brigadier General Maes Hughes: a hero of the state, and a dearly missed friend."

"A lovely young woman," Elias agreed.

Ed nodded. Elicia looked, he thought, rather stunning this evening, though he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. He suspected that when Maes and Gracia had been young, Gracia had cut as dramatic a figure as Elicia was managing tonight; in a long gown in deep green that set off her eyes, her hair up in an elaborate, elegant twist that kept its length tamed, and silver jewelry. The dress itself was mildly shimmery silk, well fitted, and utterly strapless. It was no wonder the eyes of many of the men in the room – available or not – fell on her during that first dance, and several after! "Elicia's one of the more sought after young ladies amongst the officers," Ed added to Roy's brief explanation. "So I'm guessing Roy here fixed this little pairing up to keep things under control."

Roy was smirking. "Braun is so by the book and traditional, he won't hold her hand without Elicia's permission. He's such a perfect gentleman it's almost nauseating."

Elias nodded, comprehension dawning. He smiled. "The sheep dog at home keeps the young wolves at bay."

"Nicely put," Ed said. He wondered if Alphonse had spotted Elicia yet. If so, he only wished he could be a fly on the wall of his brother's mind to see 'this' side of Elicia!

From the moment Alphonse spotted Elicia come in the door before dinner began, Al found himself in a bit of a haze. He had known Elicia his whole life, but he had never seen her really dressed up before; at least, not since she hit puberty! Her usual mode of dress was attractive, tasteful, but often more functional, right on down to 'like Winry' when it came to actually working. Most of the time, he saw her in casual clothes. Tonight –

Well, tonight all he could do was try hard not to stare! She was striking and definitely making use of every bit of her natural beauty. He was sure the dress was probably stunning, but all Al really noticed was the shape it accented, and the girl inside it. He made it through dinner all right, and enjoyed speaking with the Cretan ambassadors he found himself seated with – on purpose if he knew Roy – so he had enjoyed talking about various topics, from the new trade agreement to Cretan theater and art. It was a wonderful evening. He did in fact talk to several lovely young ladies – many the girlfriends or wives of the visiting diplomatic corps, though some were single diplomats themselves.

When the dancing began, he took a couple of turns on the dance floor with some of each, always politely making sure he had approval from any boyfriend or husband in attendance. When done properly, it could be taken as a compliment to the gentleman to dance with his lady. Al was good at those subtleties.

He danced with a few friends who were local as well – a couple of whom he had previously dated, though those hadn't lasted – fortunately he was on good terms with all of them!

After a while he stepped to the side and got a glass of water; dancing made him thirsty. He had spotted Ed out on the dance floor a couple of times as well; mostly with 'safe' females, like President Argyros' wife, Riza, and even Elicia at one point. That was about all he saw of his brother though.

"Hey you," a giggle made him look up from contemplating a glass of wine after he had finished his water. Elicia was standing right there by his elbow.

"Hi Elicia," Al replied, managing to smile and try not to look too startled. "Having a good time?"

"I am," Elicia grinned. "Carl's a nice guy; complete stick though, and I feel bad taking anyone else's offers to dance; he's being such a gentleman but I feel like he's trying to hard. So," she took his hand. "Will you dance with me? Please! The only other people I've gotten to dance with tonight are Edward and Uncle Roy!"

Al laughed. "So why me?" Instead of one of the dozens of other guys who couldn't keep their eyes off her tonight. He swallowed. Up close there was a lot more visible skin than he'd realized. Completely decent, but still distracting.

"Because then neither of them will be glaring at my dance partner," Elicia chuckled. "And 'you' don't look old enough to be my father."

Al chuckled. "I'll tell Ed you said that."

"Go ahead," Elicia grinned. "So come on!" She pulled, and he didn't dare turn her down! Al followed Elicia willingly out onto the dance floor, taking the lead almost on instinct as they started a nice, safe waltz; nothing overtly romantic.

As they danced, Al began to relax a little. It was nice though, very nice. Elicia was graceful, and she followed easily. "You're good," he complimented at one point.

"I've got a great lead," Elicia chuckled softly. "Mom taught me. She figured it might be a useful skill to have some day."

"If you invited the diplomats out here, you could probably dance them into whatever Mustang wanted," Al grinned. Keep it light. Relax.

Elicia blushed a little. "How sweet, Alphonse. If Uncle Roy would let me you mean." She glanced past Al and he could guess where she was looking. "At least he's not scowling in our direction," she added.

He would be if she knew about his crush, Al couldn't help thinking. "Is Ed?" he couldn't help asking.

Elicia looked around as they turned. "No. Actually, I don't see Edward."

Which meant either Ed was completely distracted in conversation elsewhere, or had purposefully absented himself; hopefully not to give Al away. Either way, Al was grateful. "Probably at the dessert table," he teased.

Elicia surprised him by not chuckling. Actually her face looked mildly concerned. "I don't see him over there either," she commented. "Has he been all right lately? I mean, he barely ate anything last night at dinner."

"What do you mean?" Al asked, confused. He'd seen Ed clear a full plate at dinner last night. He always did.

Elicia shrugged. "Just something I noticed. He only had one plate. I don't think I've ever seen him leave the table without at least seconds."

"Maybe he wasn't hungry," Al shrugged. It happened sometimes. Much as they enjoyed teasing Ed about his appetite, his brother wasn't nearly the bottomless pit he had been as a teenager, except on days when he and Al were really working out hard with their classes.

Elicia looked doubtful. "I guess. You know him better than me but, it's just, I think it's been almost every time I've been over or you all have come by lately. Sorry, I'm probably jumping at nothing. I know if Edward was sick or something we'd know about it."

"Right," Al nodded, trying to sound reassuring, but now there was a seed of doubt in his mind. No, he hadn't noticed, but when he thought about it, Elicia was right. Of course, there were plenty of possible explanations that were entirely reasonable, but he also knew that Ed was more likely not to say something and just deal with things on his own if he thought it would cause anyone – especially Winry – less stress.

When the dance ended, he thanked Elicia politely and handed her back to Braun. He felt a little silly, but he looked around for Ed anyway. No, she was right, his brother still wasn't anywhere in sight. Al sighed and ducked briefly into the restroom.

At first, he thought the room was empty, until he heard a flush and Ed came out of one of the stalls. Al relaxed briefly. "Ed! There you are."

Ed gave him a funny look and then shrugged. "Yeah. What, a guy can't go to the bathroom without being missed?" He smiled, but it was weak.

Al could usually tell when his brother was hedging around something. In the light, he thought Ed looked a little pale too. "Something wrong brother? You don't look too hot."

Ed sighed and shrugged. "Just a little stomach bug I've been dealing with. No big deal."

"Does Winry know?"

"You can be a nag sometimes," Ed half-glared at him. "No. We have our annual physicals in a couple of weeks, so I figured I'd just wait it out and talk to a doctor then if it doesn't clear up. Not like they can do much for it anyway."

"Brother." Al shook his head reprovingly. "I know you don't like doctors, Ed, but what if it's something serious?"

"It's nothing," Ed scoffed. "Minor bug or something; all it's given me is a little indigestion," he explained as he washed his hands and pulled his gloves back on. "I should probably say my goodbyes and get home though. It's getting late, and I promised Winry I wouldn't be out till 'all' hours," he grinned as he walked passed and headed for the door. "Didn't say anything about you though," he winked and vanished.

Al sighed; stubborn brother. Well, Ed seemed all right. If he'd been feeling under the weather for a few days, or even a week, that would also explain what Elicia had noticed. Feeling a little reassured, Al went back out to rejoin the party.

The rest of the evening was a pleasant whirl. He didn't dance with Elicia again, though he danced with a couple of other girls, enjoyed a few more good conversations, and sampled the desserts. Finally, a couple of hours after Ed had left, when people had started leaving in ever increasing numbers, he decided it was about time to head home.

Al headed out the front and across the parking lot. He paused though, when he spotted a car that looked, suspiciously, like Ed's. All right, so most cars looked the same, but still. He wasn't willing to put aside his doubts. As he got closer, he sped up. "Edward?" he peeked in the open window. "Oh hell. Ed!"

Ed was in the front seat, but he clearly hadn't made it home. He was curled up on the seat, sweating, and he'd obviously thrown up on the seat. His face was contorted with pain. He opened his eyes and looked up. "Al…" he started to sit up.

"Nice 'little stomach bug,'" Al sighed, opening the door and helping his brother. "I'm taking you to the hospital, now."

"I'm fine," Ed said through gritted teeth.

"Liar," Al smirked, trying not to look as worried as he felt. "You might be later, but you're not now. Move over," he made Ed sit on the side he'd already vomited on, and he took the driver's seat. He didn't drive too fast, but he made his way over to the military hospital as quickly as he reasonably could. Fortunately it was only a few minutes from the Officer's club. Ed didn't say anything as they drove; he just grimaced from time to time; mostly keeping his eyes closed. Al didn't push him. He was getting more worried by the minute though.

When they arrived, Ed was taken immediately to one of the rooms, and a nurse took vital statistics and signs, frowning the whole time, then left them sitting in the room waiting for the doctor.

"You should lie down," Al suggested, watching his brother's anguished face.

Ed just shook his head.

A few minutes later, a familiar face entered the room. Al was glad to see Doctor Stevenson working so late. The man had been working in Central for several years after transferring down from Fort Briggs, and was the one who usually saw most of the military officers. He was a few years older than Mustang and that lot, his hair gone gray, but still very vital and energetic himself. "Good evening," he nodded as he came in. "Or rather, I suppose it's good morning now isn't it," he sighed. "Sorry, late night."

"Completely understood," Al replied.

The doctor looked at the notes he had in hand and looked at Ed. "I know you hate this, Edward, but I think you'll agree that this is necessary. Strip down to your shirt and lie down please. I'm going to need to do a pretty thorough examination. Tell me though, as specifically as you can, where does it hurt?"

"My…stomach," Ed replied after a moment. Slowly he managed to remove his jacket –it was a mess anyway- and lay down.

"I thought as much," Stevenson replied.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Al asked.

Stevenson shook his head. "Not yet, but I have a couple of suspicions."

Al stayed out of the way while Stevenson took his time checking Ed over more thoroughly, including slowly going over every inch of his brother's abdominal area with his fingers. The whole area seemed tender enough from Ed's reactions, but at one point he cried out in pain. Finally, Stevensen sat back and sighed. "How long has this been going on, Edward?" He never called anyone by their rank, not even Mustang.

Ed lay there, and Al was pretty sure his brother looked embarrassed. "This bad?" he asked.

"At all," Stevenson clarified.

"A couple of months," Ed admitted.

"How often does it hurt?"

"Every few hours," Ed sighed. "Not usually…this bad though." He grimaced.

Every few hours, for months, and Ed hadn't told anybody? Al didn't want to believe it, but he could only too well. His brother was that stubborn and stupid sometimes!

Stevenson stood up. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Like I could," Ed quipped, though it sounded very strained. Al could tell he was in a lot of pain.

Ed lay in the bed staring up at the ceiling. This was, or at least it seemed to him, the worst the pain had ever been in; his stomach felt like it was on fire. His throat was raw and sore from vomiting too.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He heard Alphonse say from the chair in the corner. "Months, Ed? You never mentioned anything to me. I'll bet you haven't said a word to Winry either. You said so earlier." He sounded hurt and concerned.

Damn it. Ed couldn't do anything right sometimes. All he had wanted to do was avoid worrying his family, and he'd landed himself in the hospital for it. "I didn't think it was serious," he admitted softly. "I figured it was a bug or something, or indigestion."

Al snorted. "When was the last time you had indigestion, Ed? Your stomach might as well be lined with iron for all the trouble it ever gives you. And I should know," he added. Ed could almost hear the smirk that must be on his brother's face.

"Yeah yeah," Ed sighed. "I just hope Stevenson can do something."

"Something, yes," Stevenson commented dryly as he came back in. "Though 'you're' going to have to fix this one." He sat down next to the bed again and held out a cup. "Drink this."

"What is it?" Ed asked suspiciously. He wasn't fond of just 'drinking' whatever doctors handed him. It had a tendency to be nasty.

"Without the medical jargon, an antacid," Stevenson replied. "It will soothe your stomach, at least for now."

Ed sat up and took the cup. "Well, down the hatch." He took a deep breath, and drank, taking the stuff down in one long draught. Yeah, it was nasty! "You should fire your chef," he joked weakly as he handed it back.

"That's the less nasty one," Stevenson replied glibly, taking the empty cup and setting it down. "What I'm sure we're dealing with, Edward, is a stomach ulcer."

Ed frowned. "A what?" He'd heard the term before, but he hadn't ever really bothered to find out what it meant in detail. Suddenly, it seemed a lot more important. "That's a sore or something isn't it?"

"In the lining of the stomach," Stevenson nodded. "Though they can form elsewhere. What tells me it's the stomach is the fact that you're getting pains, though they sound a little erratic. Do they show up a couple of hours after eating?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't really kept track."

"Of the pains?"

"Of when I eat," Ed finished, scowling. He really didn't want to have his eating habits dissected, but that seemed to be the topic under discussion. "Which is usually meals times, or whenever I can catch it if the schedule gets chaotic."

"Or when he snacks," Alphonse added 'helpfully.' Ed glared at his brother who shrugged and smiled.

Stevenson sighed and made a note. "And what about your diet? What do you normally eat?"

Ed shrugged. "Whatever's served. I'm not picky."

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were 'trying' to be difficult," Stevenson commented as he made another note. "But you seem to delight in getting yourself into these situations."

"What causes an ulcer?" Alphonse asked.

"An infection actually," Stevenson replied. "But they are often exacerbated by stress, since that tends to mess with the stomach in general." He looked back at Ed. "Given your rather choleric temper and lifestyle, I would say that's the likeliest culprit."

"Great." So he was getting insulted tonight too. So much for a good evening! "So what does all this mean?" Ed asked, hoping to get to the point faster. He really didn't want to spend the night here. "How do I get rid of this thing?"

"I was waiting for that question," Stevenson replied seriously. Ed would have expected a smirk or something, but he didn't get one. "Normally, given your rather bizarre metabolic rate anyway, I wouldn't be too worried, but you've actually lost about ten pounds, and I'd take it as a sure bet that's all since you started having stomach troubles. Have you noticed any loss of appetite?"

Ed shrugged again. It wasn't like he spent a lot of time thinking about these things! He just ate when he was hungry. Wasn't that enough? "Not really," he admitted. "Look, Doc. I just eat food. No one ever said I had to keep track of it."

"Relax, Ed," Alphonse cut in. "He's just trying to help you now."

Right. "Sorry," Ed sighed. Hell, ten pounds? Did he have ten pounds to spare?

"No offense taken," Stevenson replied. "I never do."

"If it helps," Al commented. "Umm… someone noticed he was eating less than usually lately. I'm kind of ashamed to admit I didn't."

"Who?" Ed looked over at Al.

"Elicia," Al told him.

So even Elicia was now noticing things Ed had completely missed. Great! His stomach still hurt, but Ed was noticing a definite ebb in the pain. Thank goodness! "So…getting rid of this ulcer," he tried to get things back on track.

"Less stomach aggravation," Stevenson replied simply. "The lining has to heal back up on its own. The infection will pass; it may have already, but the sore won't heal up without a break. So you're going to have to start watching what you eat," he held out a slip of paper. "Much as I hate doing this to someone with your caloric needs," he sighed, "I think it's necessary at this point."

Ed looked down at the sheet. The top started with a list of things to avoid. Fatty foods, fried foods, spicy foods, coffee, tea – tea? – citrus, chocolate, tomatoes…. "But I like most of this stuff!" he exclaimed. He could handle not drinking alcohol. He didn't have that much to begin with.

"I'm sure," Stevenson replied dryly. "Most of us do, and in reasonable amounts they normally aren't an issue. However, they aggravate the stomach given how they digest, and cause it to generate more acid, which will leave you in pain like this evening. I know you're not much of a drinker, Edward, but I'm willing to guess that given tonight's State Dinner, that's why it hit so hard tonight."

"Makes sense," Ed sighed. He'd only had a couple of glasses of wine, but he hadn't had anything in a while, and he hadn't been nearly as distressed before either. "So what can I eat?"

"There are plenty of things that are just as good, better for you, and beneficial," Stevenson smiled, giving him the other list.

Ed looked down that list. He could deal with pastas and rice, vegetables, gentler fruits, lean meats…okay, most of this looked like the kinds of things Winry cooked anyway and they usually had at home. Then he got to the bottom of the list…. "I don't have to have everything on this list do I?"

"Not everything," Stevenson nodded. "The best items on there are the grains and the dairy products though. Milk is an excellent way to kill the acid fast, and better tasting than the antacid I gave you."

"In your opinion, Doc," Ed cringed. Milk?! This was some kind of conspiracy surely. "You sure this isn't just some sick collaboration with my wife to get me to drink milk?"

"Much as I would like to say yes, Edward," Stevenson did smirk this time, if only briefly. "I'm afraid not. An untreated ulcer that gets worse can be very damaging, or may require surgeries that, despite advances in medicine, are rather risky. And, don't hit me for this it's not a short crack; you're not 'big' enough to have that much weight to lose. In all your military medical records, even those dating back to when you were a kid, you've never really had any excess to rely on if you needed it."

It was probably the only time Ed had ever heard someone say that having any extra weight at all might be a good thing. Not that Ed had ever worried about starving to death in a frozen wasteland or anything; he'd always been a healthy weight for his size. He sighed. "So I'm supposed to cut fats and all this stuff out, and still put back on ten pounds?"

"You see the dilemma," Stevenson nodded. "Ironic isn't it?" He definitely didn't sound amused. Well, Ed could agree there, this wasn't a laughing matter!

"You can say that again," Ed sighed finally. He felt defeated. He'd never expected his own stomach would turn on him. Traitor. "So am I stuck here tonight or can I go home?"

"You can go on home," Stevenson replied. "Really, there's nothing we can do for you here except maybe give you a shot for hydration purposes."

"Um….no thanks." He still wasn't fond of unnecessary needles; or necessary ones, though he had a little more decorum now. It looked dumb if a General and hero of the people cowered and fought! "Though I'm not sure I feel up to driving," he admitted.

"I can handle that," Al commented, sounding as if he was sure Ed had forgotten him, which Ed had momentarily. This was an injury he had, as best he could tell, inflicted on himself and spent two months aggravating. How pathetic was that?

"Good," Stevenson nodded. "I know we've discussed the need for you to lower your stress before," he said. "Though that's a losing battle I seem to have with most of you higher-ups, except Alphonse," he chuckled.

Ed half-glared at his brother. "Traitor."

Al shrugged and smiled at him. "Sorry. I'll try and be more irritable if it will make you feel better."

"Doubtful," Ed shook his head. "That all?" he looked back at Stevenson. He hoped so.

"Not quite," Stevenson replied, running briefly through more instructions. "Remember, small meals, more often. Missing and stuffing your face later is only going to aggravate your stomach and prolong proper healing. Don't eat anything within a couple of hours of going to bed, and no trying to use alchemy to fix the problem."

"Oh c'mon Doc, would I do that?" Ed laughed humorlessly. He had only considered it briefly!

Stevenson just gave him a withering look. "I don't want to have to try and put you back together again if you completely screw up your digestive tract."

"I'm kidding," Ed assured him. That wasn't his area of expertise, and he wasn't inclined to mess with his stomach! Realistically, he wasn't going to do anything that might make him have to spend more time dealing with doctors and hospitals.

"You had better be," Stevenson replied. "I'll see you in two weeks as scheduled anyway, and we'll see how you're progressing."

"Yes, sir," Ed replied meekly – well for him – as he stood up and grabbed his jacket. Ugh! That was going to need a wash. So was the front of the car. "See you then."

He didn't say anything else until they were outside the building. He had borrowed a towel, and wiped down the front seat so he wasn't sitting in bile. As they pulled away he sighed. "This is so unfair," he groused.

"If you'd just come in when you first started having problems, you could have avoided all this," Al pointed out calmly. "You're too stubborn, Ed."

Ed sighed. "I know. Damn it! I just wanted to avoid all this hassle and worry. Winry's going to kill me."

"No she won't," Al chuckled. "If you weren't in pain I'd say she'd find it funny."

"What makes you think so?" Ed frowned. He really found no amusement in the situation whatsoever!

Al smiled. "We actually lived to see the day someone finally put you on a diet, albeit, for the opposite problem folks have been betting on."

"Betting on?" Ed wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Most of us aren't lucky enough to get away with what you eat," Al pointed out with a shrug. Obviously this was a truth that didn't bother him. "No one expected you to make it this long without the slow-down most guys have when they stop growing." He grinned. "Don't you ever listen to Breda gripe about it this time every year?" The annual check-ups were paired right along with a physical training fitness assessment. Even the guys who normally had office jobs were expected to keep fit. It was the military after all!

Ed shrugged, but nodded. To him, the test seemed ridiculously easy. He and Al did tougher most days of the week. But then, they weren't desk-jockeys most of the time. "I see your point." In truth, it had never occurred to him that he might ever not be able to eat whatever he wanted. "So, which side of the bet were you on?"

Al laughed. "On the 'Ed's not so oblivious he wouldn't notice it happening' vote."

Well, that was good to hear. Ed smiled weakly. "Yeah, that'd be hard to miss." Anything that slowed him down would be noticeable; or messed with his wardrobe. He wasn't a big fan of shopping for clothes. When it came to anything 'nice' – like the suit he was going to have to get cleaned now – he usually just took Winry and let her match everything. She had good taste, and it always looked good on him and fit properly with the same precision her engineering work did!

Al's expression sobered. "Are you feeling better?"

"Some," Ed shrugged. "That stuff actually worked pretty well, though it tasted kind of like drinking chalk," he stuck his tongue out.

"So at least in comparison milk will be tasty right?" Al grinned.

"Very funny, Al."

It was three in the morning by the time they pulled up at the house. "You're welcome to the guest room," Ed offered after his brother helped him inside. "No reason to go home this late."

"Thanks," Al replied. "I'll take you up on that."

Ed left his jacket in the laundry room and dropped down on the couch. "At least Winry's asleep," he groaned. He still wasn't sure how he was going to admit this to her. "She's going to be pissed. And this is gonna be hard…"

"How so?" Al asked. "It doesn't look that bad."

"With that list?" Ed looked at his brother like he was crazy. "I won't be able to eat half the stuff they serve in the Mess!" At home, he'd be okay, but given what they served up to keep active soldiers and alchemists in training properly fed, the Mess wasn't exactly lacking in temptations, nor did it offer a lot of other alternatives. Not that Ed would consider edible anyway.

Al winced. "You have a point." He stretched. "We should both get some sleep. Morning's going to be here bright and early as always."

"Yeah." Ed stood, though his mind was full, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep. "Good night, Al."

"'Night, Ed."

Ed went upstairs, changed into shorts for sleeping, and slipped quietly into bed. Winry was completely out, not even stirring when he kissed her cheek before settling in. His stomach was still bothering him, but not with the stabbing painful intensity of earlier. Finding out the problem was almost worse than just dealing with it, but at least now he could actively do something to fix it, even if he didn't like the treatment.

Somewhere in the middle of wondering and worrying, Ed fell asleep.

September 3rd, 1930

Alphonse woke up early with the first rays of sunlight. Yawning, he got up and after stopping only to run fingers through his hair and get a glass of water out of the kitchen, he left a brief note and headed out. He wasn't going to take Ed's car. If he did, with his luck Winry would go into labor sometime that morning!

He was still pretty groggy; a rare occurrence, but it was nothing a little breakfast and a hot shower wouldn't fix when he got home. Besides, he liked early morning walks. Central was quiet, and he could actually hear the birds singing in the trees, and watch the world awaken. He smiled as a mother cat and her kittens padded past. She paused when she spotted him, and they all darted into the bushes. Al chuckled.

The sun was well up by the time he got all the way back to his place. There were lights on downstairs and sounds inside that told him that Elicia was there early and already opening for the day, as she usually did. It made things easier on Winry, especially lately.

Al didn't go in, ducking around back to his entrance and going up to the apartment. He was in a good mood, though still concerned about Ed. His brother wasn't great about following doctors' orders most of the time. While Al showered, he wondered if Ed would even show up at work today. After last night, he privately thought he probably shouldn't, but Ed was stubborn that way sometimes.

After a long, hot shower, Al wrapped a towel around his waist. Time to see about breakfast. He came out of the bathroom and paused in the middle of toweling his hair dry when he saw someone standing in his living room. "Elicia! What are you doing here?"

Elicia had just set something down on the table; she jumped and turned. Her eyes went wide. "I… Mom and I made a couple of extra pies," she said, flustered. "I know you like the cherry, so I brought you one. I have…umm…one for Edward and Winry downstairs too…" her voice faded off and she averted her eyes, flushing bright pink.

Why was she…? Oh heck! He was still in the towel. Blushing furiously, Al retreated hastily. "Umm, thanks! I'll be right back okay?" He tried not to run back to his room. He was really going to have to consider locking that door when he was home!

He took several minutes getting dressed; more to give himself a chance to relax and get control of his reactions before heading back into the other room. Thank goodness he didn't make a habit of going around naked!

When he came out again Elicia was still there, sitting on the couch. "I'm sorry," she said as soon as she saw him. "I should have knocked, or waited till you came downstairs."

"It's all right," Al smiled. "You just caught me off guard." Today, back in her normal work clothes, she was just Elicia again, and that made it a little easier to talk to her.

Elicia nodded. "I also wanted to make sure everything was all right," she admitted. "When I was leaving last night, I thought I saw Edward's car still in the lot."

"You did," Al sighed. He saw no reason to hide the truth from Elicia. It wasn't like she and Gracia wouldn't find out anyway. So he filled her in briefly on the events of the night before.

"I thought he was a little off," Elicia sighed. "I was hoping I was wrong."

"It's still good you noticed though," Al smiled. "That was part of why I went looking for him last night." If he hadn't already been suspicious, he probably wouldn't have looked to see if that was Ed's car either, and he hated to think about leaving his brother alone all night in pain. "Fortunately he'll be okay, if he actually does what he's told to."

"You think he won't?" Elicia asked.

"I think he'll have a hard time doing it," Al shrugged, sitting down next to her. "So," he said, deciding it was time to change the subject. That was Ed's business. "Did you have a good time last night? This was your first State function right?"
Elicia nodded and smiled. "Yes it was, and yes I did. Once I got a break from my 'date,'" she added rolling her eyes. "He was very nice, but boring!"

Al chuckled. "Carl's a good office aide. But I guess he's not really all that interesting hmm?"

Elicia shook her head and leaned back, her hands behind her head. "Not really. I prefer guys with a little more…well, life to them!" She sighed. "Not that Uncle Roy or Edward will let most of them anywhere near me."

"They just care about you," Al smiled.

"I wouldn't have this problem if I were a boy," Elicia sighed, plucking at lint on the back of Al's couch absently.

"You wouldn't be as cute if you were boy either." Gah! Had that come out, out loud?

Elicia flushed, but she was smiling as she looked up at him contemplatively. "Oh? You think so?"

"Well, yeah," Al tried to cover himself quickly. "I mean, I definitely think girls are cuter than boys." He wasn't sure that really helped.

Elicia laughed. "Well that's good! I really didn't figure you for the other type," she teased. "Given your choices in dates. Thanks for dancing with me last night," she added. "Don't tell Roy and Ed, but you're a better dancer than they are."

Al chuckled. "All right, but I would have loved to see Roy's face." Ed never claimed to be much of one, though just about anything that involved movement and rhythm he was pretty good at.

"Me too," Elicia admitted then sighed. "I just get tired of all the over-protectiveness. I mean, I'm not a kid anymore, and I'm not likely to be fooled by somebody or fall all over a guy just because he's good with words and rates a ten in looks! Though it's like none of them notice me for anything other than my looks and my Dad's rank."

"I don't see you like that," Al replied, hoping he wasn't stepping too close to the mark. "I mean, I like talking to you because you're smart, and you've always got interesting things to say."

Elicia was smiling. "But you think I'm pretty too, don't you?"

Well that was bold! There was nothing Al could do but shrug and nod. "Of course I do. You're…a cute kid."

He was sure he'd blown it, or maybe saved himself; Elicia rolled her eyes and sighed. "There you go again; as bad as Edward. I'm not a kid! I'm an adult; I'm an auto-mail mechanic, and I want to do more with my life than just be 'Hughes' little girl.' I love Daddy, I still miss him, but I'm not just his baby anymore." She stood up. "Mom doesn't know, but I even think about joining the military sometimes, you know? Do something useful. Daddy worked in Investigations; I could be good at that."

"Does Winry know?"

"Yeah," Elicia nodded. "We've talked about it. She understands actually. I mean, I don't know if I'm ever going to really do it, but it's worth considering. I want to do something important with my life, and while I really love helping Winry, I'm not sure I want to spend the rest of my life working with auto-mail."

She was right, Al couldn't help thinking; she really wasn't a kid. There was nothing immature about her really. Youth didn't mean a lack of knowledge, and not even of experience; he and Ed and Winry were proof enough of that.

"What?" Elicia looked down at him, a little confused. "Did I say something odd?"

Oops. He'd let his mind go off. Al smiled. "No. Sorry, just thinking." He stood up. "I really do need to get breakfast and get to work. If I don't, things will almost certainly run late." He looked down. Elicia smiled up at him, and he realized just how close he had put himself to her without meaning to. Or at least, not consciously!

He could try. One kiss would probably tell him if this was more than a silly crush. Al couldn't take not knowing forever. But what if it wasn't? Was he ready to handle the complication to his life if he was actually interested in her?

Elicia saved him the trouble. Looking a little nervous herself, she stretched up and planted one on him.

Al froze, his whole body going stiff momentarily. He'd kissed girls before, but this was surprisingly different despite the hesitation on both ends.

It was brief, Elicia didn't press, but she looked completely embarrassed. "I…" she bit her lip and looked up, a little afraid of what she had done.

Al blinked, and blushed. "Umm… "

Elicia looked away. "Oh, God. I'm sorry, Alphonse. I just…."

Al reached out and put his hands gently on her shoulders. "No, Elicia." He wanted to say more, but words weren't coming. Why weren't words coming? He wasn't used to having this problem! "Don't apologize."

Elicia looked back up into his face. "I didn't think it would be so awkward. At least, I always hoped it wouldn't. I… ah hell."

Al chuckled, nerves, but the fact that she was as unsure as he was actually helped a little. "It's okay," he smiled. "I liked it too."

"You…did?" She seemed nonplussed. Okay, so maybe there really was something to be said for a little experience.

"Yeah," Al said. "I've been, kind of umm… wondering."

"Wait a minute," Elicia stepped back. "I've been crushing on you since I was, like, thirteen! Don't tell me you've been interested and you didn't say anything!" She was yelling, but Al had to admit he found the indignant tone in her voice amusing.

"It's not like that," Al promised. "I mean… not really. I mean, it's kind of a recent thing," he admitted. "You're the one who said you're not a kid anymore, right? I just kind of…noticed."

Elicia seemed to be deciding if he was serious or not. Finally, she smiled. "Yeah, I guess I did. So…umm…what now?"

Al sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, that was really something."

"Yeah, but some 'what?'" Elicia chuckled, still clearly a little nervous. "We've been friends forever. You've been like my big brother. And I hate to think what Mom would say if we…"

"Yeah," Al smiled. "I was worried about that too."

"Right," Elicia blushed again briefly. "This is awkward."

"Very." Al stepped away and picked up the pie. It needed to be put away for later. "We can either try to pretend it never happened, which I don't think either of us is capable of," they were both too honest, "Or we can just see what happens. Like you said, we're friends right? If it ends up being more than that, than it does. If not, then we don't have to worry about attraction anymore."

"That makes sense," Elicia sounded relieved. She didn't follow him into the kitchen. When Al returned, she seemed more composed. "I guess I'll talk to you later," she smiled. "I should get back to work, and you've got things to do."

Al nodded. "I do, and I'd like that." He wasn't sure what he was getting himself in to, but he knew that finding out was better than continuing to sit and wonder.

Ed showed up to HQ, though he was a couple of hours late. He hoped Al didn't mind his cutting out on that morning's sparring session, but he doubted his brother would be more than annoyed. Not given the note he'd left in the kitchen telling Ed he should take the day off and not worry about it.

Winry had asked him about it when he came downstairs, she had actually gotten up first. It had been a humbling and embarrassing explanation of the previous evening's events, and admitting that he'd been keeping quiet for a while. Winry had been upset, but he'd gotten off with a surprisingly short chewing-out and some disappointed glares. She'd gotten a hold of his paperwork from Doctor Stevenson and taken a look at all the things he could and couldn't have, and actually smirked. "I guess you'll stop complaining when I tell you that you should drink your milk."

"Didn't say that," Ed had smirked. "I'll still complain. I might just actually drink it."

After a light breakfast that left him still hungry, Ed had gotten dressed and headed on in. He hated it, but he'd follow orders on this one. He arrived in his own office to find a note requesting he meet with Mustang. No clue what it was about, but it was there. Shrugging, he headed on 'upstairs.'

When he walked into the front office, everything was business as usual; which meant that somewhere in the chaos business was probably getting accomplished.

"Hey, Ed," Feury smiled as Ed walked past.

"Hey," Ed smiled. He wasn't going to let last night get him down. If he acted normally, no one had to know about last night's fiasco.

"Yo," Havoc grinned, bent over a stack of paperwork that Ed didn't envy him in the least.

"Ed! Just the guy I wanted to see," Breda chuckled. "We got a special delivery this morning and if you don't help with it I'm going to be fighting a moral dilemma all day."

"Moral dilemma?" Ed gave him a confused look. What did he mean by that?

Havoc laughed. "He's talking about those," he pointed down to the end of the row of desks, where there was a large open box of fresh pastries; donuts, crullers, sweet rolls, mostly glazed, all delicious; Ed knew from experience. The smell met Ed's nose about the same time and it was difficult not to drool. No fair!

Ed shrugged though. Yeah, keep it casual. "No thanks," he grinned as he kept walking. "Just ate."

"What? Come on, Ed!" Breda's tone was disbelieving and slightly pleading. "I can't look at those all day!"

"I'm not your waste-basket, Breda," Ed laughed, waving nonchalantly behind him as he stepped past the end of the desks and reached Roy's inner-office door. He opened it and went in, closing the door on the sight and smell of painfully forbidden food. Safe.

"I never thought I'd hear you turn down food, Fullmetal," Roy chuckled with a bemused grin.

Not so safe. Ed shrugged. "There's a first time for everything right?"

"Don't tell me you're as worried about the upcoming physical as everyone else out there," Roy continued, flipping through a stack of pages on his desk.

"Hardly," Ed grinned. "It'll be a cake walk, pun intended, like it is every year. I think you get things like that just to torture your subordinates," he added, thumbing back toward the door.

"No one else's willpower is my problem," Roy shrugged.

"Just your own," Ed taunted, moving away from the door and dropping onto one of the couches in front of Roy's desk. "I notice the box isn't in here."

"Very observant," Roy quipped, leaning back and shoving the papers to one side. "It would reflect rather poorly on the military if its President failed the basic physical."

Like there was really any danger of that. Despite the fact that most of Roy's job for the past several years had been mostly desk related, he'd never been one to let himself slip. He was too much of a damned perfectionist on some things, and relied as much on being always ready as Ed did. Ed smirked. "We could always have a rematch and prove otherwise."

"Only if I don't have to clean up afterwards," Roy actually chuckled.

"So, what's this meeting all about anyway?" Ed asked, getting down to business. "I doubt you invited me in here just to take up time inquiring about my health."

"Actually, that's part of it," Roy replied, his expression more serious.

Ed's smile faded. "Okay, how the hell do you know already?"

Roy sighed and smirked. "Other than the fact I'm your only superior officer? Actually, I had a word with Al this morning when you weren't in earlier."

Ed sighed. "How much did he tell you?" He really didn't feel like unnecessarily going into details, or like he really wanted to admit the depths of the problem to Roy, no matter how well they got along most of the time.

"Not much," Roy admitted. "Other than you were ill last night, and that he hoped you wouldn't be in today, but figured you would be anyway." He shrugged. "Given we were all at the same party just last night, I figured it had to be an interesting story. What did you do? Give yourself alcohol poisoning?"

Ed scowled and bit his tongue; Roy was joking. He knew Roy was joking. "Please! Not hardly," he replied.

"You know Riza will probably just tell me about it after she talks to Winry anyway right?" Roy grinned insufferably.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you've got to promise not to laugh."

"I'll promise not to laugh loudly, how's that?"

He was really treading on thin ice today. "Stomach ulcer."

"Eeehhh," Roy grimaced. "Sorry to hear it. No, that's not funny at all is it?"

"No," Ed sighed. "The laugh is that Doc Stevenson has me on restricted diet till the thing goes away, and still has the nerve to tell me I'm supposed to put on a few pounds at the same time."

"And you used to call me a sadistic bastard," Roy replied, chuckling just once.

"You tell anyone and I'll transmute your office to look like a brothel," Ed threatened, though he smirked back.

"Don't worry," Roy smiled. "I won't say a word. Though maybe I should reconsider the assignment I was planning to discuss with you."

"Oh? What is it?" Ed really didn't want special considerations because of something he considered a temporary pain in the …well, stomach.

Roy shrugged and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk, hands clasped above them. "Apparently you've charmed the upper echelons of Creta much more effectively than Amestris; probably because they didn't have to deal with you as an untrained-pup," he added. "But either way, Elias and his wife were both very much hoping that, in a few months, they might host Riza and myself, and you and Winry at their home in the capital. It would be a diplomatic and business trip on both ends," he clarified. "But Elias made it clear he hopes to have us as personal guests."

"And my having a temporary digestive problem means you're considering not sending me how?" Ed asked.

Roy's grin widened. "More Cretan food for the rest of us, of course."

Ed held up his fist, though he didn't move. "Very funny, Mustang."

Roy chuckled. "Very well, shall I tell him we accept? The invitation included the children of course. Sounds relaxing to me, and I thought this was a diplomatic trip you could actually be an asset during."

"Me or Winry?"

"Both." Roy shrugged. "Negotiation would be fairly minimal given it's a win-win for us with what the Cretan government wants, and it's good PR for us too. It also just sounded like a great excuse for a vacation."

"I agree with you there," Ed grinned, relaxing a little. "I'm sure Winry will too." He hadn't gotten a chance to tell her much about the actual dinner, not when their conversation that morning had focused on what had happened afterwards. Still, he knew his wife would jump at the opportunity to be the first Amestrian auto-mail company to get a crack at business in Creta. "A few months you said?"

Roy nodded. "There's plenty to be discussed and worked out before then. A lot of it is so much bureaucratic red tape, but it's got to be handled right. The Assembly this morning was very interested in the idea of my going personally, and you going as well when I explained how surprisingly popular you apparently are in their country as well."

"That all then?" Ed asked.

"For now," Roy replied agreeably, looking at the paperwork on his desk with distaste. "Until then, it's the usual grind-stone."

Ed stood and stretched. "All right then. Back to work it is."

"Oh, one thing," Roy smirked as Ed turned to go. "Tell Breda if he doesn't improve his time over last year's annual PT run, I'll pass an official order making them required quarterly and make sure everyone knows it's his fault."

Ed laughed, grinning as he turned the handle. "You're mean, Mustang. I'll be sure to let him know."

September 16th, 1930

"I think I'm going to die of starvation," Ed complained to Al as he shut the door to his office at HQ. "Whose dumb idea was it for us to do drills the morning before physicals anyway?"

Al laughed. "You're the one who made up the schedule, Brother."

"Figures," Ed sighed. "No one to blame but myself then."

"You could probably skip this afternoon," Al pointed out. "And no one would make waves. It's not like everyone doesn't already know you can pass it."

"It'd look bad," Ed shrugged and shook his head. "No. It's not even enough of a workout to stress over. I mean come on, run a couple of miles, do a few sit ups and push ups? It's a joke, Al."

Al shrugged. "Well, for you and me sure. For Mustang and most of the regular soldiers too."

"And a torment for the desk-jockeys," Ed chuckled. "No, there's no point in skipping out Al. It's my appointment with Stevenson I'm not looking forward to."

"You never do," Al replied. "Besides, you've survived two weeks, what are you afraid of? You're doing better right?"

Ed dropped down onto the couch in his office, leaning back and resting his arms along the back. He looked up at the ceiling. "Some." He hadn't had anything nearly as bad or as painful as the night of the dinner, but he still felt pretty lousy a bit after eating, more like bad indigestion and a slow throbbing pain. He was healing, but he wasn't sure just how much. "It's been harder than I thought it would be," he admitted to his brother. "I've never really had to think about food before you know? Whatever was available was good, and I could just eat till I wasn't hungry anymore. Now though, it's like I've been betrayed by my own body."

"So it's one of the 'fun' things about growing up," Al smiled sympathetically. "At least it's working right? Stevenson should be pleased with your progress."

"I hope so, Al." Perhaps his biggest worry was he really didn't seem to be putting any weight back on. Though he was pretty sure he hadn't lost any more. "I don't need any more restrictions on what I can and can't do. Who knows how long this could last?"

"Just relax and don't think about it," Al suggested. "You tend to stress when you think too much anyway." He leaned against the wall. "How's Winry? Today's d-day right?"

Ed smirked. "Yeah. Still pregnant." D-day: Winry's due date. Not that it had mattered to Sara, who had come a content two weeks late last time around. "She was pretty grouchy this morning. She was having a serious talk about timing with her stomach when I left. She was still planning to go in to work though."

Al laughed, but he winced too. "Poor Winry; I hope this one comes soon, for both of your sakes!"

"Yeah," Ed nodded. "Just hopefully not in the next few hours!"

Al sniggered. "I'm sure if she does we'll get a call from Elicia."

"Speaking of Elicia…" Ed grinned. Great, an excellent way to change subjects! "I know you danced at that little State function. So she didn't spend all night with Lieutenant exciting-as-drying-mud. Yet you haven't said a word about her since. So is anything happening?" He really wanted to know, and he found it a little suspicious that his brother hadn't said Elicia's name once up till now, not even in casual conversation.

"What? What makes you ask?" Bingo; yeah, something must have happened, Al was starting with the questions!

"The guilty behavior," Ed's grin turned predatory. "Spill it, Alphonse! I'm not going to go blabbing it to anyone after all."

Al sighed, and Ed knew he was going to cave even before he shrugged and nodded. "Well we… talked."

"Talked. Oh that's exciting," Ed shook his head. "You do that all the time. What made this different?"

Al's face was turning bright red already. Ed had definitely struck gold on this one. "We ah… kissed."

Ed's eyes went wide and he sat forward. What? "You're kidding! And you didn't tell me? When was this?"

"I don't tell you everything," Al retorted. "Well ah…the next morning, after I left your place," he confessed. "It was accidental really. She was in my apartment and…"

"Elicia was in your apartment the next morning?" Ed was teasing, but he couldn't help it. The sadism was improving his mood.

"It wasn't like that!" Al wailed softly, glaring at him. "You're mean, Ed."

"Sorry," Ed chuckled. "So she came up to your apartment the next morning, and you talked, and kissed. Does that mean it's over, or does that mean I need to start keeping tabs to make sure you don't get left alone together?"

"Not funny." Al shook his head. "And neither. It just means we're going to see what happens." He did smile then. "It wasn't me who started it."

Now that was news! "Elicia huh? Showing a little initiative," Ed chuckled. "You might be in for more than you bargained, Al."

"I think you're right, Brother. I think you're right."

Despite Ed's complaints, he and Al did both pass the test without breaking too much of a sweat. It was almost fun really, since they ran it at the same time as the rest of Mustang's staff –and the 'great' Flame Alchemist himself. It turned into a bit of a race at the end too, since Al, Roy and Ed were all perfectly capable of doing two miles easily. Otherwise they wouldn't have broken a sweat at all! Everyone else had perfectly good times – even poor Breda, who looked like he was going to keel over at the end of it to keep Roy from carrying out his threat – but they couldn't keep up with the alchemists.

Not that there was a really definitive winner, given they all came in on the same second, separated by mere fractions.

"What happened to taking it easy, Fullmetal?" Roy chuckled as they stood at the end, waiting for the others to catch up. They'd left everyone in the dust, well passing the required minimum time.

"Can't have anyone thinking I'm losing my edge," Ed smirked and shrugged, panting. "Besides, it's been a while since I had a real challenge. What about you 'fearless leader?'"

Roy shrugged back. "I just like to win."

"Good motivation," Ed chuckled. "So Al," he called to his brother, who was conferring with the soldiers taking down scores. "Who won anyway?"

Al sauntered back over, grinning. "I did."

Damn! "Who came in second?" Ed asked immediately. There was still a chance he had beaten Roy after all!

"You both did," Al replied. "Right down to a tenth of a second." They weren't measuring more specifically than that.

"So much for that then," Ed laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Rematch?"

Roy shook his head. "Not today. I've got work to get back to."

"Later," Al chuckled. "You and I still have to see Stevenson."

Ed sighed. That was the part of all this he wasn't looking forward to; the full physical. That meant being poked, prodded, and stuck, on top of seeing if he was improving at all otherwise.

The physical went about as he had expected. To his credit, Ed put up with it without a word of complaint. Not when they took blood, not when they gave shots, took blood pressure, weight, and looked him over from the top of his head to his feet. As he had expected, the worst thing they had found – the nurse teased – was a few split ends! At least as far as anything new might go. That, and his weight was still down; but Ed had frankly been expecting that.

Stevenson seemed pleased with progress otherwise. "No more vomiting? That's good. Pains subsiding? How frequent are they?"

Ed shrugged and answered the questions. He was still spending a lot of time uncomfortable, because eating anything caused discomfort while he was digesting, but he had to eat! Smaller meals helped, but it also left him hungry and rarely satisfied. "But it's still progress right?"

"Oh definitely," Stevenson nodded, actually approving. "For once, you're a model patient."

"Great!" Ed dared a smile. "So how much longer do I have to do this?"

Stevenson shrugged. "I'd say another six weeks. That's about how long these usually take to heal up completely."

"What? Six weeks!" Ed groaned. "Please tell me you're joking. I'll starve!"

"Sorry, Edward," Stevenson replied, though Ed would have sworn he didn't sound sorry! "You'll just have to be patient if you want that ulcer to heal up properly."

"Yeah," Ed sighed. "I know, I know. Whatever you say." He'd continue following those orders too; the last thing he wanted was to spend the rest of his life worrying about what he put in his stomach!

Afterwards, he went home to his family. Sara was glad to see him, and Winry was, well, still pregnant, restless, and irritable! The whole family called it an early night.

September 17th, 1930

"Ed?" It sounded like Winry's voice, soft, but urgent. "Edward?" It came again. Ed shifted and opened his eyes. Winry was standing beside the bed, looking nervous. "You awake?"

"I am now," Ed sighed, looking up at her. "Are you all right?"

Winry nodded in the affirmative, but grimaced slightly. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure it's time."

That wiped the worst grogginess from Ed's mind in a heartbeat as he sat bolt upright. "The baby's coming?"

Winry managed a weak smile. "Well I'm having some pretty serious contractions here, and they haven't stopped. All in the back this time though."

"Have you called the doctor?" Ed swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. "How long have you been having contractions?"

"Not yet, and a couple of hours," Winry replied. "But they came on fast, and they're a little…intense." She broke off, and Ed could see her body tensing. He hated seeing her in pain. He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until she relaxed again. "I don't think this is going to take as long as Sara's birth."

"Then I'll call now," Ed promised. "You just relax, and, well…" He was getting flustered already. That didn't bode well!

Winry actually chuckled softly. "I'm fine, Ed. Now go. The baby isn't coming in the next five minutes."

Well that was good! Ed nodded, squeezed her hand, and hurried downstairs to the phone. It was the middle of the night, but someone would be available. He looked out the windows in the living room as he picked up the phone, and realized it was raining pretty hard. Well, that settled that. There was no way he was taking Winry out in that; looked like the doctor would definitely be making a house call.

Ed dialed the hospital, who promised to page Doctor Stevenson immediately. Then he headed back upstairs. His heart rate was already up with excitement and nerves. This was it! In a few hours he would be holding his second child.

When he got back upstairs, Winry was slowly pacing the floor of their bedroom. "You all right?" he asked.

"Fine," Winry replied, though Ed could tell things were progressing. She was already more distracted, more inwardly focused.

"You want to lie down?"

Winry shook her head. "Hurts more that way; That's why I got up in the first place."

"Anything I can do?" Ed offered. All he had been able to offer for Sara's birth was his presence and words of encouragement given his own injured state at the time. He hadn't been able to offer Gracia much else when Elicia was born either for that matter. Still, he wanted to alleviate Winry's pain and stress as much as possible.

Winry nodded. "Actually, there is. When it's in the back, pressing here," she tapped the small of her back, down by the tail bone, "is supposed to help with the pressure when the muscles tighten."

"I can do that," Ed said, glad for something to do, even if he didn't know how much it would really help.

As it turned out, it helped a lot. The difference between Winry's reactions to the contractions was immediately noticeable. She still hurt, but Ed noticed she found it easier to keep the rest of her body relaxed. She gave him direction too; a little harder, where to place his hands. "Another good use for auto-mail," Ed joked at one point. He was surprised at just how hard she asked him to press sometimes, but he trusted Winry to know what needed doing.

"Told you so," Winry quipped, leaning back into his hands. Then she moved away again, pacing more; she reminded Ed of the large tigers he had seen in the zoo in Berlin once.

The sound of the rain on the roof was soothing. It went like that for the next hour; with Winry pacing, and Ed helping ease her discomfort with each contraction. Between them, he fetched water and light snacks, though Winry barely touched them. With time to count, Ed realized quickly that the contractions were barely three minutes apart. He hoped the doctor arrived soon! The idea of having to delivery a baby himself was a terrifying one; no matter that he had watched two little girls born in his life and knew what needed to be done in an uncomplicated delivery.

Finally, Ed heard a knock downstairs, and the door opening – he had unlocked it for this reason – then footsteps on the stairs. Then Doc Stevenson was standing in the doorway, smiling despite the absurd hour. "Good morning," he chuckled. "How are you feeling, Winry?"

"I've been more comfortable," Winry commented with dry humor.

"I'm sure you have," Stevenson nodded. "If you can lie down for just a couple of minutes, we'll see just how far things have progressed."

Despite having been part of the baby-creating process in the first place, Ed found medical examinations a little disconcerting. He looked elsewhere until it was over.

"Someone's in a hurry to join us," Stevenson was smiling as Winry rolled over on her side and got into a more comfortable position. "I suspect it will only be a few more hours."

"I love your definition of hurry, Doc," Ed smirked. "Everything's okay?"

"Going excellently so far," Stevenson replied. "Baby's position is perfect and things are progressing quickly."

The confirmation that everything was fine was a relief, even though Ed had been intellectually aware that if something was wrong, Winry would be reacting very differently. That made the next few hours a little easier to bear as he continued to watch her pace, and did his best to ease her pain, though the pressure on her back became decreasingly ineffective as the contractions became more intense. Finally, it reached the point where Winry did lie down, and Ed found himself relegated to the familiar position of hand-holding-nervous-husband, with nothing else to offer but words of encouragement and love.

By sunrise, it was all over. Ed was surprised, but would later be glad, when Stevenson enlisted his aid in bathing and swaddling his newborn son. "He's beautiful," Ed smiled softly, cradling the baby in his arms as he sat by the bed. No matter how many times he saw babies, he always forgot how tiny they were in the beginning. Sara had actually been a little smaller than this fellow, and he still seemed tiny. Ed smiled and leaned over, kissing Winry. "You do nice work."

"Thanks," Winry chuckled. She looked tired, but happy. "I had a good assistant."

Ed grinned. "I learn fast," he teased, though in truth, he always felt humbled by the realities of childbirth. "Though I'm glad I don't do this for a living."

"Me too," Winry smirked.

Ed flushed slightly. "Yeah. It still blows my mind that my mother did this twice, so close together."

Winry smiled. "Love makes us do crazy things, Ed."

"Well I'm not needed here anymore," Stevenson smiled as he finished packing up his bag. "If you need me, give me a call. And congratulations."

"Alone at last," Ed grinned.

The door creaked open, and Ed looked up.

"Not for long," Winry chuckled as Sara appeared in the doorway rubbing her eyes.

"I heard voices," Sara blinked; then her eyes rested on the bundle in Ed's arms. "What's that?"

Ed stood up and came around the bed, crouching down. He couldn't help smiling. This was a moment, he hoped, would be a fond memory for his daughter later. Their lives were all changed by this event. "Sara, this is your little brother, Aldon."

He watched, enchanted as Sara's eyes grew very wide and she leaned forward, peering down at the sleeping infant in wonder. "He's so small!" she exclaimed quietly, and a huge smile spread across her face.

"He'll grow," Ed chuckled. "We're going to need you to help look after him, okay?"

Sara nodded. "I'm a big sister now!" she smiled, clearly happy with the idea. Of course, she had been excited about that ever since she found out about it, but Ed knew the reality of anything was usually different than what was expected. Still, Ed couldn't imagine life without his brother, and the bond they shared; he hoped Sara and Aldon would have that same close relationship as they grew up.

He took Aldon back to the bed, and gave him to Winry, who settled him into his bassinet by the bed. Sara bounced up and curled up between him and Winry as Ed lay down. It had been a very long night, and what he really wanted now was sleep. He knew Winry did too.

As he drifted off, Ed reveled in the peace and love that came with the feeling that his world was complete.