April 11th, 1984

Cal Fischer hadn't expected to see Alyse at the train station that afternoon, so he wasn't surprised when she wasn't there. Instead he found Elicia and Gloria waiting for him. He hadn't been on the platform more than ten seconds before his daughter almost knocked him over with the force of her hug.

He dropped his duffel and wrapped his arms around her, immediately overwhelmed by a sense of relief and the scent of lilac soap. "Hey, baby girl," he whispered into her hair.

"Hi, Daddy," she replied into his shirt. "Welcome home."

They stood there for several seconds, and only reluctantly did Cal loosen his grip on his daughter. Elicia was standing behind her. She smiled. "Hello, Cal. Ready to go?"

He nodded. "This is all I've got." He hefted his duffel back on his shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

Elicia and Gloria led him out to the car, and Cal got another surprise as Gloria got behind the wheel. "You drive?"

"Permit." Gloria smiled. "Grandma's been coaching me."

"I'm not sure my nerves are ready for you to be driving," Cal admitted, though he smiled, so he hoped she understood he was teasing. He was out of practice.

Thankfully, she chuckled. "I'm good," she promised.

"She is," Elicia nodded, getting in the back so Cal could sit up front with Gloria. "She had the traffic laws memorized in a week."

"You might be a better driver than I am." Cal leaned back against the seat, willing himself to relax as Gloria put the keys in the ignition and very carefully pulled out of the parking spot.

The drive to Al and Elicia's house was uneventful enough that Cal almost dozed off. He certainly felt himself nodding.

No one scolded him. Elicia smiled, and Gloria looked amused more than anything else. "See, smooth as silk."

"That was very well done," Cal agreed as they got out of the car. He had known they wouldn't be going back to their house tonight, much as he wanted to be in his own place. Alyse and the kids had been with Elicia since Alyse got out of the hospital.

He wasn't sure what to expect when he came through the door, but he wasn't surprised when Charlie slammed into him with even more force than Gloria had at the train station, and Cal barely had time to drop his bag before he was giving his son a bone-crunching bear hug. "Whoa, who said you were allowed to keep growing while I was gone?" he asked gruffly.

"Why would I listen to you anyway?" Charlie retorted, but when he straightened up –he stood at least three inches taller than when Cal had left—he looked a little misty-eyed.

"Little punk." But Cal couldn't help smiling. It felt good to smile. His son didn't seem to have suffered any long-lasting effects from being sick, though he was on the lean side at the moment, probably due to the obvious growth-spurt he had gone through while Cal was gone.

There was only one thing missing from this homecoming.

"Mom's waiting for you in the living room," Charlie said, stepping back.

Cal didn't need to be told twice. He hurried down the entryway and bypassed the kitchen with a need that snarled hungrily within him. He had barely registered that Alyse was sitting up on the couch before he had dropped to his knee, half on the couch and half off, his arms wrapped around his wife; his mouth pressed to hers. Life surged through him. Warmth. Love. Relief. Alyse was alive. She was real. Safe. Here.

Her arms were wrapped around him, too, tight as iron bars; their lips burning with a mix of desire and the melting away of fear.

Cal might have happily passed out from lack of air kissing her, except that Alyse broke the kiss first with a small gasp, and he felt immediately guilty. She had nearly died from smoke inhalation. Could she even go that long without breathing? Was it safe? Cal opened his eyes.

They must have reflected his fear, or she had felt his muscles tense, because Alyse brought a hand up to his cheek in a comforting gesture. "I'm so glad you're home."

Cal felt wetness in the corners of his eyes. "Damn it, 'Lyse. I'm the one who's supposed to get all banged up." Now that he was looking at her, he couldn't help but be aware of the bulky cast still on her foot, ankle, and partially up her calf.

"I can have a near death experience if I feel like it, thank you very much," Alyse replied. "But I think I'd rather leave that to someone else from now on."

Cal nodded. "Leave it to the pros." He looked into her eyes, wanting to do nothing more than lose himself in them.

"Are you hungry, Dad?" Gloria asked after several moments of silence.

"Yeah, a little," Cal replied. He hadn't felt like eating on the train. Nerves had eaten him too much. The closer he got to Central, the more anxious he had become. Now, his stomach grumbled. "What's for dinner?"

"Well, we thought about ordering Xingese," Charlie grinned as Cal groaned, "But Mom said you'd probably want something else."

Cal was still looking at Alyse. "Well, she's awfully smart."

"We've got steak, green beans, and potatoes," Elicia informed him. "And if that's not enough, we have an apple pie that's about ready to go in the oven."

"I helped make it," Charlie admitted, grinning. "I've been keeping an eye on the kitchen."

"Is anything the same since I left?" Cal asked wonderingly, taking his eyes off his wife long enough to look at his son.

"Sure," Charlie shrugged. "I'm still a brat."

Cal reached out and ruffled his son's hair. "Thank goodness for that."

Dinner lasted too long for Cal. Not that he didn't enjoy every savory bite of it. He had missed Amestrian food almost as much as he missed his family. It was all he could do to keep himself from over-indulging a stomach that had grown used to military rations that consisted primarily of rice, with small helpings of pan-fried or boiled meat and vegetables. Even so, he devoured an entire twelve ounce steak, two helpings of green beans and potatoes, and a slice of pie he would have considered ludicrously huge at any other time.

Afterwards he snuggled on the couch with Alyse and listened as Gloria and Charlie filled him in on everything they had been up to while he was gone. He had never enjoyed the constant chatter of his children more, or realized just how quickly they were growing up. Gloria had a starring role in her next ballet. She was driving. She had a new boyfriend- Cal tried not to choke on the glass of red wine he had been sipping when she made that announcement.

Charlie was excelling in shop class, where they had gotten to the units on car repair and maintenance, where his long-standing interest in anything that ran was proving to put him at the head of the class –for once.

Cal didn't want to talk too much about Xing, but the kids wanted to know what it was like, having never been. So he told them about the architecture, and the people he had met, and seeing Mao, Tao, and Shan. When Charlie wanted to know about the fighting, Cal told the highlights. He told them about his waterspout at the bridge. He told them how they had retaken the city.

Eventually, it was time for the kids to go to bed, since they still had school in the morning and homework to finish. Elicia excused herself to go up to her sewing room, which left Cal and Alyse entirely alone for the first time since before he left.

"You're amazing," Cal said tenderly, as he caressed her cheek, running a hand through her hair. "It's gotten longer," he commented as his fingers fondled the silky mass. Longer and –he was shocked to discover- it now held a bare handful of silver among the light brown.

"I was planning to cut it," Alyse admitted softly, gazing into his eyes. "But if you like it this way—"

"Do what you want, 'Lyse," he cut her off. "I love you, and you've never had bad taste. Any style you pick will look amazing."

"Are you sure you didn't swap brains or something in Xing?" Alyse asked with playful suspicion. "You are Calvin Fischer aren't you?"

"How about I carry you into the bedroom and show you just how me I really am," Cal suggested as he leaned in to kiss her with far more ardor and passion than he had dared with both of his children in the room.

He was both startled and thrilled by the warmth of her response.

"Lead the way," Alyse whispered when their lips parted.

"Can you—"

"I'd be jogging if it weren't for my stupid ankle," Alyse assured him, her frustration in her infirmity plain. "As long as we're not standing up, I can keep up with you."

Cal didn't dare mention the fact their children and her mother were in the house. Tonight, if his wife didn't care, he certainly wasn't going to remind her of how prudishly concerned with propriety she had been before he left.

Before we both nearly died… again.

Cal stood, and did as he had promised, lifting Alyse into his arms and carrying her into the downstairs room that had been an office before he left, but had been converted into a downstairs bedroom to accommodate Alyse's need to avoid stairs.

He set Alyse on the bed, locked the door, and returned to her, his hands going for the buttons of her blouse as hers went for his uniform.

Her body was even more beautiful than his dreams could do justice. Moving with tender care Cal hadn't used since their earliest wedding days to avoid hurting her ankle, he caressed her, relished the feeling of her hands on the skin of his neck, his chest, his abdomen. The electric feeling of her breasts pressed against him and the heat radiating from their skin.

When it was over, he could hardly move for the sheer contentment he felt, and a semblance of inner peace, and a purely selfish relish in having enjoyed the exquisite pleasure of their intimacy.

When did my brain get so poetic? Still, Cal would never have called the experience 'just' sex. "I love you, 'Lyse," he murmured into her hair as they snuggled under the sheets he had pulled over them when they finished, mostly to keep his wife from getting chilly. "You had me so worried."

"I'm fine," she replied, the arm draped over his chest squeezing in a tired hug. "I'm just glad you came home safe for once."

Relatively. Cal didn't think she needed to know how many times he had nearly been blown apart –or needed repairs- in Xing, especially not including minor ones. "I do try to follow the orders of my betters," he said, stifling a yawn. "And you are most certainly that."

"Nice that you remembered." Alyse kissed his cheek, yawned as widely as Cal felt like doing, and closed her eyes. "Don't you dare go away again."

"I'm not planning on it," Cal promised. At least, not for a long while. He couldn't promise he would never have other missions, and she knew that, but only wars took him away from his desk, and he had certainly had enough of those to last a long time.

April 12th, 1984

Ian Elric swallowed and tried to sit still in the makeup chair as Bonnie put the finishing touches on his make-up for the upcoming scene. He was excited, really, for this project, but at the same time, he was slightly terrified. It was a new experience, and he didn't really like the feeling. This was a breakthrough project that would only help bolster his already growing career. Not that anyone had said anything disparaging about his doing a couple of public service announcements about safety during the tensions with the Syndicate, which was still a potential threat. When Ian Elric told teenagers how to stay safe and avoid becoming unnecessary victims, they listened.

"Will you stop that?" Bonnie tsked in annoyance.

Ian blinked. "Stop what?"

"Turning odd shades of green. You're throwing off the make-up job."

"Gee, sorry," he replied more irritably than he had meant to.

Bonnie looked at him for a moment, then she sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood. Are you actually nervous?"

"Yeah," Ian admitted, swallowing again and wishing he had been able to eat something.

"Wow. I didn't think you ever got nerves."

"I've never… well, I've never sung in a movie before." Given he was playing a rock musician in this particular piece –courtesy of all original music inspired by the records from Dumais' collections from the other side of the gate, but with Amestrian words- there was a lot of singing. Being a professional, he had insisted on doing his own vocals. Now he wondered if he had been wise to tell them he could do it.

Bonnie didn't look concerned. "I've heard you sing. Your voice is fine. If it wasn't they wouldn't have let you do your own singing."

"Yeah, but it's not my best skill." Ian shrugged. "I'm just afraid I won't be able to live up to my own rep, I guess."

Bonnie leaned in and offered him a very small peck on the cheek.

Ian was too stunned to respond as she smiled. "Relax. You'll be fine."

He didn't have time to speak before Tanner shouted "Everybody on set!"

"And, you're done," Bonnie finished a last dust of his nose with powder. "Get out there and break another several thousand pre-teen hearts. I'm sure there are a few girls out there who haven't discovered they're madly in love with you yet."

"Very funny." But her teasing made him feel better. Sometimes, it was nice to know there was one girl who saw right through the smoke and mirrors and magazine covers to the real Ian. He was lucky to have her as a colleague, and even luckier she had decided to be his friend.

Too bad she still wouldn't go out with him.

Being home, yet not entirely home, was a weird experience, but better than being far away in Xing. During his first day back, Cal went over to the house, fed Miss Whiskers, who assaulted him with leg-tangling purrs the entire time he was home, fetched a couple of things Alyse wanted, ran several errands, and took the phone call that ended up being confirmation of arrangements by Elicia and Gracia to have the family remaining in Central over for food in the back yard that evening to celebrate Alyse's birthday.

Which meant Cal spent the afternoon running another couple of errands after his mandatory stop back at Central Command to report in before officially going on leave. By the time his hectic day was done –he was grateful it was a Saturday- family had begun to arrive. Trisha showed up first with Rosa and Gabriel, followed soon after by Ethan, Lia, and their kids.

"Well, you've looked worse," Ethan commented by way of greeting, though his words were accompanied by a smile and a hearty handshake.

"Wish I could say the same for you," Cal teased as he returned the firm grasp. "You look too chipper."

"Now that my most critical patients are out of the hospital, I actually get sleep," Ethan replied.

"Isn't sleep a wonderful thing?" Cal quipped as they walked into the living room, where Trisha and Lia were deep in conversation with Alyse, who was ensconced like a queen in the most comfortable chair, with her feet up on a cushy footstool. Lily had vanished upstairs with Gloria and Kamika. Eamon and Charlie had already been put to work grilling meat outside. Aeddan was out there with them, stuffing ingredients from bowls onto little wooden skewers. Rose and Gabriel were setting the dining room table under Gracia's supervision. Elicia had control of the kitchen.

"It's something we could all certainly use more of," Ethan said as he also surveyed the room. "How's your head?"

Naturally he asked after his health. "Better," Cal replied honestly. "It's been a couple of days since I had a headache. The worst of it was passed before the fighting ended.

You get spoiled having an alkahestrist around all the time," he grinned. "Kind of like being home, actually."

"I don't suppose you managed to hijack a few of them to come work for me?" Ethan teased. "Two of our trainees have graduated and decided to go elsewhere to open their practices, so I've got openings."

"Nope, sorry," Cal shrugged. "I was a little busy trying to keep Xing from falling apart. So," he gave up surveying the room. The conversation was extremely girl-centric at the moment. "This looks like the right time to grab tall glasses of iced tea and claim the deck chairs."

Ethan grinned. "Sounds like a good tactical strategy, General."

"Shut up, Doc."

Ethan was enjoying himself. It wasn't everyone, but even having one family member back made it feel like the fighting was really ending, and soon everyone would be coming home. It only got better when, right before food was served, more showed up.

Krista arrived, looking mildly harried, as was typical in the middle of the semester, and just after, Ian showed up.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he came through the door. "Shooting ran over."

"It happens," Elicia smiled, waving him in.

Only as Ian moved out of the way did Ethan noticed a girl coming in through the door. "Who's this?" he asked. She was awfully good looking – for a younger woman.

Ian looked slightly flustered, but he smiled. "This is Bonnie."

"Oh! Of course," Elicia beamed as she closed the door behind them. "You work at the studio. Make-up and costume design, right?"

"That's right." Bonnie looked slightly startled.

Ethan grinned. "Ian likes to brag about your work."

Bonnie gave Ian a suspicious look. He shrugged and looked sheepish.

"It takes talent to make him look good," Eamon commented.

"Thanks for the ringing endorsement," Ian quipped wryly.

"Hey, I'll take compliments for my work," Bonnie replied, grinning at Eamon and moving further into the house. "Something smells amazing."

"That would be dinner," Ethan said as he smiled. "I'm Ethan. Ian's uncle. It's a pleasure to have you join us this evening."

"Thanks." Bonnie's handshake was firm and warm despite the fact she looked a little nervous about coming. "Ian said you all wouldn't mind if he brought me along. We got off pretty late."

"There's always room for another person in the Elric family kitchen," Ethan assured her. "We specialize in cooking for a small army."

"That's because our family is a small army," Alyse pointed out from where she had already settled herself at the dining table.

Everyone settled down at the table –which had its folding leaves extended and a card table tacked on the end to make room- and soon the primary sounds were forks, plates, and chewing.

Ethan tried not to glance in Bonnie's direction too often. Though he couldn't help but watch Ian, who was sitting next to her, trying to look casual. He knew his nephew. Ian was clearly attracted to Bonnie, but doing his damned best to hide it, which wasn't like him at all. Wait, isn't she the one he said refused to go out with him? Suddenly the scene before him took on an entirely different light; a friend, certainly, and a colleague, but nothing more than that. Ethan felt a sting of sympathy for his nephew. If he honestly liked her, as opposed to his usual string of dates, than he might be in for trouble.

After dinner, he cornered Ian briefly as he was drinking a soda outside. Cal had just stepped away, and Ethan took the chance to step in for a casual comment. "How'd you talk her into coming when she won't go out with you?" he asked.

Ian blinked, and finished his sip before answering. "It's a thank you. She helped me out today, and she does that a lot. If I'd tried to take her to a fancy restaurant she'd have come up with some excuse to be anywhere else. A free family meal for being a friend, not a problem."

"She seems like a nice girl."

"Nice doesn't begin to cover it."

"No need to get defensive," Ethan shrugged, smiling. "Just take it easy. You seem pretty jumpy. How's filming?" He was interested in this particular project, possibly more than Ian's usual work. Though that might have to do with his not being a screaming teenage girl.

"Today went okay," Ian replied. "It was my first song number. I've… frankly I've never been so scared of anything in my life since the first time I auditioned for a school play."

"What did the directors think?"

"They thought it was fine. We got the whole thing down in three takes, actually."

"From what I understand of film, that's pretty fast."

"Yeah." Ian nodded, starting to look a little more relaxed. "Bonnie kept telling me I should just relax and enjoy it, I was doing fine."

Sounds like she cares about you as more than just a casual friend. Ethan didn't say that though. Butting in would be the worst thing he could do there. "Which, being you, I'm sure you nailed it." Ethan smiled. "I look forward to seeing this one. I do hope there will be a soundtrack."

Ian grimaced, even as he managed a smile. "Oh Tanner's been talking that up to the promotions team for months already. Thankfully I made him swear and sign that he couldn't force me to do any live concert tours."

"You don't like your swarms of fans?"

"I don't think they want to see the shade of green I was assured I had turned this afternoon."

Their second night back together was as intimate and close as the first, and much needed. Alyse could read it in Cal's eyes, his actions, his need for her, and not just physically, though that had always been a need of his. Emotionally he was in need, he was hurting, and she knew why. It was the same reasons she had once craved his closeness. It assured her that he was safe and alive, that he had come back to her in one piece. This time, she had been the worse injured, and despite the war he had faced, he had come home to a family that had been caught in the danger once again.

Alyse kissed his cheek as they snuggled and let her hand rest comfortably over the warm skin of his chest. "Did you have a good time tonight?" she asked hopefully. The plan had been meant to give him a comfortable family situation to readjust to being home, and feel welcome, and see that everything was all right.

Cal smiled, and caught her chin with one hand, tilting her head so he could kiss her lips instead. "With you, always."

"Flatterer," she chuckled. "I meant dinner and everyone. It wasn't too much was it?"

"No, not at all," he replied softly, though with a slight hesitation. "It was good to see everyone, and besides, it's your birthday."

"You seem tired." She didn't want to push too hard, even though she had the feeling he wasn't being entirely truthful. It didn't feel like a big problem, or that he was purposefully trying to divert her.

"Do I?" he asked with a wry smile. "Well, let's see, I've been in combat for months and now I'm in bed with a woman I can't resist. Though I'm not too tired," he added, kissing her again, more warmly. "I don't suppose you've got the energy for another round?" He looked hopeful.

As long as they were careful that Alyse didn't have to put weight on her ankle or twist her leg in any odd angles they could have sex without causing her much pain. She shook her head, but it was with amusement. "You're doing most of the work right now," she pointed out.

"Is that a yes?"

"If you're not ready to sleep yet."

His eyes lit up. "Sleep, who needs it?"