November 13th, 1959

"If you say one word, Franz Heimler I'll transmute your eyebrows into caterpillars."

"Did I say anything?" Franz chuckled as he walked out of the café next to Sara.

Sara eyed him sideways, smirked. "You want to."

"Well…." Franz pushed his glasses up his nose and shrugged, putting his arm around her shoulders as they headed down the sunny South City street between the outdoor stalls that lined the street. He looked good; relaxed, strolling down the street in khaki pants and a casual, green collared shirt.

"That's one word," Sara laughed. "But I guess I'll let you off this time." It was hardly her fault she had been starving for the past few days. Okay, so fault should be assigned equally, but still. She just enjoyed teasing Franz. It was nice to be away from Central. Walking around in civilian clothing in South City no one knew them. They could be silly, romantic, anything they wanted and no one was going to hear about it later! That was the whole point of going out of town for vacation.

"I'm so relieved," Franz laughed, kissing her cheek. "So now that lunch is taken care of what do you want to do next?" So far on their vacation they had enjoyed everything from dancing at a popular club in the area, to visiting an aquarium, seeing a play, eating at a bunch of the good restaurants around, sleeping in every morning in their hotel room, and shopping what seemed like half the city, though Sara knew that was an exaggeration. Still, they were both likely to get caught up looking at books and various other things.

"Promise not to laugh?" Sara asked her husband.

"Cross my heart," Franz replied.

"Good," Sara nodded satisfactorily. "I'd love to get ice cream."

Franz, to his credit, did not actually laugh. He just gave her a tighter squeeze with his arm and smile. "Whatever you desire."

"I wish you'd say that to me more often," Sara chuckled.

This time, Franz laughed. "How do you think we got here in the first place?" His hand slipped from her shoulders to her waist.

"By train?" Sara teased. She was enjoying herself almost too much on this trip. She was sure she hadn't had this much fun when she was younger. Maybe everyone was right; she needed to really let loose more often. How to manage that with both of them Colonels in the military and with children was a challenge, but they managed it relatively regularly, just not to this extent. It was nice to be having adult fun for a week!

"Silly," Franz shook his head. "All right, so ice cream it is. I think there's a place just up the street. After that we've got some time before we're supposed to meet up with this friend of yours."

Sara was really looking forward to dinner. They were meeting up with Mars Leighton. Mars and Franz had actually met a few times in the past. Sara was still friends with her one-time boyfriend and they kept in touch mostly through letters and the occasional phone call. Mars was doing very well as an architect and spent a lot of time traveling. His designs were in fairly high demand in Creta and Amestris, and recently apparently in Aerugo as well, where there was a lot of rebuilding going on.

That Mars was in South City for a couple of weeks was a happy coincidence. Though the last time they had talked on the phone Mars had mentioned that he wanted to bring someone along to dinner. Sara hadn't minded, but unless she was very much mistaken, she was fairly certain that whoever Mars was bringing had to be a woman. Who exactly she didn't really know. He'd had a few girlfriends over the years, and Sara knew she didn't hear about all of them, but nothing had lasted. If Mars wanted to bring this one, she was probably something special.

Bang!

Sara was jerked out of her reverie by what sounded like a gunshot. She stopped dead, coming immediately alert. Beside her, Franz had done the same. People in the road got deathly quiet for a moment. Another shot sent people scurrying every which way.

"I should look into this," Sara commented, heading forward toward the sound, pulling gloves out of the pocket of her cream slacks even as she did so. She never went anywhere without them. A firm hand on her shoulder stopped her. Frowning she looked over at Franz. "Are you planning to stop me?"

Franz looked like he wanted to, but he sighed and shook his head. "No, but you don't think I'm letting you go in without back up do you?"

"What do you intend to do, charm them to death?" Sara commented glibly, covering fear more than anything else.

"No, I thought I might be more effective in other ways," Franz replied, this time serious. "Let's go."

They didn't have the chance to take more than a dozen steps down the street when a man backed out of the South City Bank carrying a bag of what Sara was sure contained money, turned, and started running down the street right toward them.

Sara stepped to the side, palms going together as she prepared to attack with a simple transmutation –

- when her plan hit a serious flaw as she accidentally ran into a pole holding up a canopy over one of the outside vendors, and bounced, falling into the table underneath covered in blankets!

She heard a shot fired as she lost sight of her target, and was grateful for the pile of blankets she landed on. She staggered to her feet in time to see Franz close with the bank robber, coming at him from the other side, and take him down with perfect military precision, pinning him to the ground and putting him in a choke hold. The shouts and whistles of South City police were heard only seconds later. People peered out of windows and doorways only as the police came into view.

It was over so fast even Sara was feeling a little dazed. Perhaps that had been her misstep though. She stood there, resting one hand on the pole that had caused her to lose her balance earlier, watching as they cuffed the man and Franz stood. Then she crossed to the middle of the street joining them. "Are you all right?" she asked Franz immediately.

"Fine," he grinned at her, panting. "I have to admit, that was a bit of a rush!"

Sara chuckled and reached out straightening his glasses. "From desk jockey to adrenaline junky in three seconds flat."

"Very funny," Franz shook his head just slightly before a more concerned expression crossed his face. "Are you all right? For a moment I thought you'd been shot."

"Missed by a mile," Sara assured him. They kissed briefly and she turned to the police. The wagon had pulled up and they were hauling him inside. "So just what happened here?" she asked the nearest officer.

He gave her an odd look at the authoritative tone, then glanced down at her hands, and the glint of pocket-watch chain looping out of her pocket. The cream slacks and flowing pale blue and white shirt weren't enough to disguise who she was then. He may not know the name, but he knew a State Alchemist. "Robbery, Ma'am," he replied politely. "Fourth one this month, same guy. Your…husband," he paused as he tried to figure the relation. "Brought down a criminal we've been after for a while. Did you have a hand in this?"

How could she not right? She could almost see him wondering. Sara shrugged and smiled. "No. This was all his work," she grinned at Franz, who looked mildly embarrassed but also pleased. It had been a long time since he'd gotten to do anything adventurous.

"I'll need to get your statement of course," the officer pulled out a notepad, "And a name for the report. This is high service to your country of course."

"Of course," Franz replied. Sara was pleased that he didn't snicker.

The report was quickly given, though the officer looked mildly stunned when Franz introduced himself as Colonel Franz Heimler from Central.

"Well no wonder you knew what you were doing," the officer chuckled.

Within another few minutes the situation was cleared up and they were free to go. When the police had gone, Sara and Franz continued down the street to the ice cream shop, where they sat down at an indoor table and ordered sundaes. "I think you earned it more than I did," Sara admitted. "I feel like an idiot for misjudging my surrounds like that."

"I'm glad you did," Franz replied, his expression going surprisingly serious. "He'd probably have hit you otherwise." His hand reached across the table, squeezing hers.

Sara squeezed back. "Well he didn't. I'm all right and you're a hero. Sounds like a pretty good ending to me."

Franz looked mildly frustrated, then smiled ruefully. "No wonder Kane always liked sending you out on missions like these. Not much rattles you does it?"
Sara giggled as she took a big spoonful of ice cream and chocolate syrup. "I'd have thought you would have figured that out after Trisha was born."

Franz smiled. "That aside, I've almost never seen you in action. The last time we worked together on anything you were a bright kid with way too much determination."

"And now?" Sara quirked an eyebrow, awaiting his response.

Franz smirked as he took a bit bite out of his own sundae. "Now you're even worse."


Sara and Franz decided to go back to the hotel and take a nap before dinner after the unexpected chaos of the afternoon. Sara didn't think she'd be all that tired, but she crashed the moment she hit the bed and was out for nearly three hours.

"Sleep well?" Franz asked when she awoke finally. He was sitting on the bed reading a book.

Sara glanced at the clock, felt mildly embarrassed and nodded. "I didn't realize I was that tired."

Franz chuckled and bent over, kissing her on the nose. "That's cause you never slow down enough to notice, Belle, and right now you're in overdrive anyway. Come on. How about a shower before we go out?" His eyebrows wiggled suggestively.

Sara laughed at the expression, but nodded. "A shower would be great."

So they took a nice long, hot shower together and then got dressed for dinner. They were meeting Mars – and his unknown guest - at a restaurant downtown. It didn't take long to walk there. Sara was just glad there were no other crimes being committed that evening for them to get involved in.

Mars was easy to spot. Sara would have known her old friend even if he were bald, mutilated, or the size of a house. Fortunately, he was none of these things! His thick dark hair was still in evidence, and his good look face hadn't changed much. While he was still heavier than he'd been in high school, it wasn't by much; a little soft more than anything else.

The woman sitting with Mars was definitely right about their age, with dark wavy hair that fell to just past her shoulders, deep brown eyes, and a lightly tanned fair-natured skin tone. She was perhaps a little taller than Sara, and of medium build, slim-waisted, with more bust and hips than Sara could manage to boast except when breastfeeding!

Mars grinned and stood, coming around to hug Sara first, then shake Franz's hand. "It's great to see you again," he grinned at them both. "It doesn't happen often enough."

"Come through Central more," Sara grinned back.

"I might just have to," Mars said as they all took their seats. His smile got even wider then, if that was possible. "Sara, Franz, I'd like to introduce you to Silvia Violetti."

Sara knew that name. She looked at them both. "It's nice to meet you finally," she smiled, a little surprised. She looked at Franz. "Silvia from Pylos?" Mars had talked about a lot of his college friends when he had first gone off and they had written semi-regularly. Silvia had been a friend. One of the ones who helped put him back together after his disastrous attempts at romance had failed.

Mars nodded. "Yep, same one. We ran into each other down in Aerugo actually."

Silvia nodded, smiling. "Mars was designing a few buildings in Bueáire. I'm a photographer and I was working on a collection about Aerugean culture and their rebuilding." She looked over at Mars with a distinctly affectionate smile. "He nearly ran me over trying to get a good look at the angle on some of the exterior decoration on one of their older buildings."

"Hey I apologized didn't I?" Mars laughed. "Even took you out to dinner."

Sara cut through the banter with a grin. "Why do I get the feeling that's not all of it?" She knew Mars had been in Aerugo for a solid year.

Mars actually blushed a little. "Well, how was I to know she'd been interested in me ever since college and never said anything?"

"How could I after what happened?" Silvia pointed out. "Then I could never find you after we graduated half the time. You're a terrible correspondent."

"Tell me about it," Sara snickered. "Obviously that's not a problem now though." Okay so she was digging for information.

"No, not really," Silvia chuckled.

Mars looked like he might explode from happiness if he didn't get to tell her his news. "We're engaged."

Thought so. "That's great!" Sara said.

"Congratulations," Franz smiled. "When's the wedding?"

"We were thinking next summer," Mars grinned. "In Central."

Sara laughed, considering his earlier statement. She raised her glass of water in a congratulatory salute. "We'll be there."

November 16th, 1959

Edward yawned and stretched as he leaned back in his chair away from the alchemy lab desk. He glanced at the clock and grimaced. It was almost one in the morning. He hadn't meant to get so wrapped up in research. He stood up and headed for the door, turning off the light as he stepped out into the hallway.

Pir was waiting for him just outside the door, lying on the floor with a bored look. None of the animals were allowed in the lab. He jumped up as Ed came out and shoved his hand with his nose.

"Pushy aren't you?" Ed smirked, scratching the dog behind the ears. Dara and Bounce were almost certainly asleep downstairs. There was no light coming from the bedroom, so he figured Winry had already gone to sleep.

There was one door however that still had light coming out from under it, and that was Tore's. Ed shook his head. His student had come home two hours later than he'd said he would from the date he'd had tonight. What was he working on now? Curious – or maybe suspicious was a better word – Ed walked down the hall and knocked on the door.

On the other side he heard a chair shift. "Come in." Tore sounded surprised anyone was still up.

Ed opened the door. Tore was at his desk, lamp lit, working on writing an essay, his history book out in front of him. It looked like he already had at least two pages and he was in the middle of a third. Though at the moment Tore was just staring at him. "So I don't need to ask what you're doing I suppose," he smirked. "Why didn't you do this earlier?"

Tore snorted. "Because I was out, remember?"

"I meant before tonight," Ed replied. "I'll bet it's due tomorrow and you've had at least a week to work on it."

The sure look on Tore's face flickered. "Yeah, something like that," he admitted. "What do you care? I'm getting it done."

Stubborn little…. Ed bit down on his temper. "Don't you think maybe you should reconsider your priorities?" Why did the kid always make him have to sound like an ass by being responsible and lecturing?

"Don't you think you could stay out of it?" Tore retorted. "You didn't set a time I had to be home, and neither did Karen's folks. The paper'll be done before it's due."

"And you'll be dead-dragging tomorrow in class and in the afternoon during our session," Ed pointed out. "Sleep has to fit in there somewhere, and your classes come first." Something else hit him a moment later. "Karen? I thought you were going out with Misty?"

"Not tonight," Tore smirked. "Haven't been out with her in a couple of months. You're a little behind there, Teacher."

This was getting complicated. "So it's Karen now. When did you stop going out with Misty?"

"I didn't," Tore shrugged, looking back down at his essay. "It's not like we're serious or anything. I mean come on!"

Ed wasn't sure he liked the cavalier attitude here. "And the girls don't mind?"

"Of course not," Tore replied. "We're only fourteen. What's the rush?"

A sentiment that Ed would have found reassuring coming from his own kids, but Tore gave it a whole different meaning. "You're supposed to be telling us what you've got assigned in school," he reminded Tore.

"What, would you have told me I couldn't go out if you'd known I had a paper due?" Tore challenged casually.

There were days that Ed regretted that he hadn't managed to strike the terror into Tore that Ed and Al had felt when dealing with an angry Izumi Curtis. "Yes, I would have," he replied. No matter what, he was the kid's legal guardian. "School's more important than anything else you have to do right now."

"You never finished," Tore pointed out.

"What I did or did not do is not the issue here," Edward snapped. "Are you saying you're ready to take the State Alchemy Exam in a few months and devote your life to the military, or go out and get a full time job and support yourself?"

That seemed to take the wind out of Tore's sails for the moment. "No sir," he replied with a heavy sigh.

Point made. Ed nodded once. "I didn't think so. You'd better be home on time tomorrow for our training session. It's going to be grueling."

"Great," Tore sighed. "I'll be there."

"Good." Ed turned to leave again. "Finish up and get some sleep. This happens again and we'll have to talk about some stricter rules."

"About curfews, homework, or girls?" Tore asked warily.

"All of the above." Ed left the room before he really lost his temper. He'd probably wake Winry if he did! She had said be patient, and he was trying. The boy hadn't broken any rules, and he was technically fitting everything in, it was just far from the best way to go about things. He also knew it couldn't keep up like that forever. Keeping everything in balance wasn't easy.

That and teenagers today confused him. It had been bad enough when he was one! If the girls really didn't mind this kind of dating, he wasn't sure what to make of the new generation.

That thought made him feel old. Shaking it off, Ed slipped into the bedroom, stripped to shorts, and curled up in bed with Winry. She, at least, he understood!

November 18th, 1959

"One more bite sweetie," Maes smiled as he held the spoon in front of Rochelle. She sat in her high chair looking entirely uninterested in the peas and carrot pieces he offered. It had been a fight all through dinner, but he had been patient as usual. His baby girl was almost two already. Time seemed to have flown. Not that he liked thinking about the events of nearly three years ago. He was just glad nothing had happened since then. Dorothéa had turned three this past summer, and little Roy was five and a half and in kindergarten.

"Daddy I'm done!" Little Roy said, holding up his empty plate.

"Good for you," Maes smiled at his son.

"Me too!" Théa chirped.

"Then it's time to get ready for your baths and bed," Elena smiled, getting up from the table.

"I'll bring Rochelle up when we're done," Maes promised. Elena nodded and herded the other two upstairs. Maes watched them go then turned back to his most stubborn child. "Come on now," he sighed, wiggling the spoon. "Just one?"

"Nuh-uh!" Rochelle shook her little head.

It turned out to be a losing battle. After another fifteen minutes Maes gave up trying to make the obviously tired toddler eat her last couple of bites of vegetables. She had eaten about half of them after all. Sighing, he took her upstairs. Little Roy had finished his bath and was in his pajamas, sitting in his room trying to read a very simple book while he waited for story time. Théa was almost done with her bath.

"Here you go," Maes smiled as he helped take Rochelle out of her clothes and set her in the bath with Théa.

"Thank you," Elena replied as she finished rinsing Théa's hair. After a minute she looked up at Maes expectantly. "Could you do the dishes tonight?"

"Oh, right," Maes flushed, a little embarrassed. He was just standing here watching her work. "Of course, love." He kissed her cheek then backed out of the bathroom and headed downstairs.

It didn't take long to do the dishes. Though with three children in the house one day's worth was more than it had been when Maes was growing up. When that was done he picked up the toys lying around the living room and put them in the toy basket kept downstairs for just that purpose.

Only then did he feel he had earned the right to kick his boots off and crash on the couch while the teapot steeped. It had been a long week at the office; lots of paperwork and a couple of in-town missions that had been routinely monotonous but time consuming. That seemed to be the way things worked most of the time lately.

Maes knew he should be grateful that his superiors kept him in Central. In fact he hadn't had a single out of town mission since before Rochelle was born. Still, he wished he felt more like they were doing it so he could be with his family than that they were keeping an eye on him. Not that he had any grounds to really assume the latter, but it made sense.

He tried not to feel like he was in a rut, but lately Maes had to admit that was kind of how his whole life felt. He had three wonderful kids, a beautiful wife, he loved them all, and yet he felt like something wasn't quite right. Work was routine, and they didn't get out much. When he was younger Maes had always been very social. He liked to get out and be with people and do things. Elena was similar. So why didn't they?

Maes knew that on his part it was a nagging feeling that if he did, he'd be under surveillance. Not from the general public, but Elena would wonder, even he would wonder, or their friends might. Maes didn't ever want to let anything like what had happened with Vanessa – or before that – happen again. He couldn't.

But life was routine, unexciting, and Maes wasn't sure how to improve that. Was it just him? He hated feeling restless. It made him feel like he was betraying his family somehow even though he was grateful every day to have them.

"Maes?"

He looked up. In his reverie he had missed Elena coming downstairs, and the teapot was whistling. "What? Oh sorry," he jumped up and hurried into the kitchen, where he took the pot off the stove. "I was lost in thought. I guess I just didn't hear it."

Elena followed him. "I'm not upset about the tea," she replied calmly.

Maes chuckled. "Sorry. Well anyway, you want some?" he offered as he filled his cup.

"No, thank you."

The quiet in her tone was rather…disquieting. Maes looked up. "Is something wrong?"

"We need to talk," Elena replied.

Maes felt his stomach drop through the floor. Those weren't words that ever had a good ending for him with anyone. "Sure," he replied, setting the teapot down before he spilled hot water on something, like himself. "What do you want to talk about?"

Elena hesitated for a moment, clearly not sure exactly how to phrase what she wanted to say. "I'm… I need a change."

"What?" Maes was glad he hadn't picked up his tea, or he probably would have dropped it or sprayed it. As it was he stared at his wife. This was one of his worst nightmares realized. "Wh…what do you mean? Elena you can't…"

"Calm down," she frowned. "You don't even know what I'm going to say."

He froze three steps toward her, confused as hell. "Well, what kind of a change do you mean?"

He'd obviously upset Elena with his assumption, but she sighed and shook her head. "I just… I'm frustrated. I love you, and I love the children but…" she looked away, almost as if embarrassed to continue. "But that's not enough."

Maes remembered when all they had talked about was having a family. It seemed like so long ago now. What bothered him was how much that statement seemed to echo his earlier thoughts. When had they stopped being utterly in sync? "What would be?" he asked hesitantly.

Elena looked up at him. "I was wondering if it would be all right if I found something to do during the day. Really, I'd like a job."

"A job?" Maes was surprised. Elena had inherited the money from her father, and all of her older brothers, being the last living member of her family. They could never have lived as well as they did on Maes' salary, even with how decently well a Lieutenant Colonel got paid. Combine the amounts, and they had at least as much money as his folks had now.

"I need more adult interaction," Elena explained patiently. "More human contact! I want to feel like I'm doing something more than house chores and child care. Oh I know that sounds horrible," she looked away for a moment.

"No," Maes assured her as her words sunk in, as well as relief that she wasn't leaving. "I mean, I understand," he replied, resting one hand on her arm. "I think it would be a great idea."

"You do?" Elena looked momentarily unsure, then a smile spread across her face and she hugged him. "Oh good! I wasn't sure, with the children so young."

Maes hugged her back, though something about her tone struck him. "Why wouldn't I?" He had never tried to dominate Elena, or make her do anything she didn't want to.

"Well you've been so… protective," she said, picking her words carefully as she looked up at him. "Of me, of the children. I thought you might disapprove."

Was he really that bad? Maes felt a twinge of familiar guilt. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I want you to be happy. There's no reason you can't find something to do that you love and makes you feel like you're accomplishing something." Heck, wasn't that why he became a State Alchemist in the first place? It had been all he wanted since he was old enough to understand what that meant.

Elena looked relieved, and happier than Maes had seen her in sometime; another realization that made him ache inside. "Thank you, beloved," she kissed his cheek, and smiled for another few seconds, until a small crease of concern crossed her face. What now? "Did… did you really think I might be telling you I was leaving?"

Damn it. "I… well it sounded bad," Maes admitted. "Not your fault," he added hastily! "Just…well…"

Elena sighed and shook her head. "I've told you before; I'm yours for the rest of our lives. I love you. Why do you keep worrying?"

Why indeed. Maes wasn't even sure some days that he knew himself. He stopped himself from apologizing again. "I'm not sure," he finally admitted, then smiled weakly trying to cover his unease. "All I know is that I love you, and I'd do anything for you."

Elena didn't press the issue. She smiled and kissed him lightly. "You're sweet. Please, stop worrying."

"I'll try," he chuckled, returning the kiss and trying to get past uncomfortable topics. "So, you want to do something tonight?"

Elena's smile faded just a little. "Actually…I was kind of hoping to take a long hot bath. I haven't had a good soak in ages."

"Oh. Of course." He wouldn't be disappointed. They rarely got time to themselves, especially not with three kids. They were fortunate the kids were as well behaved as they were. "Go enjoy yourself," he said. "I've got a book I've been wanting to read."

She seemed reassured. Maes wondered if she had been afraid of hurting his feelings. "That's good," she smiled, stepping back and heading out of the room. It was only after she was already upstairs that it occurred to Maes that he could have seen if she wanted to take a bath together. He didn't go upstairs and ask though. If she wanted to be alone he didn't feel like getting shot down again.

Now that was pathetic. He was afraid of being shot down by his wife? Since when was it being shot down anyway? With a heavy sigh, Maes leaned against the doorjamb between the kitchen and the living room. Tea no longer seemed appealing.

What the hell happened to my self-confidence?

November 20th, 1959

"Sounds like it was quite a vacation," Winry chuckled as she and Ed sat in the living room chatting with Sara and Franz after dinner. Trish was curled up on her father's lap. She had been very happy to have her parents home!

"Oh it was," Franz grinned. "It was kind of nice to get to be the hero for once."

"You're my hero," Sara argued, her head rested in the crook of his shoulder; her eyes drooped a little. It had apparently been a long trip.

"Surviving having peas flung at me and endless paper cuts is hardly heroic," Franz retorted, kissing her head. His arm lay across the back of the couch, his hand resting on Sara's shoulder.

"It is when you shield me from the peas with your body," Sara smirked, then looked a little wide-eyed for a moment. "Excuse me." She stood up and slipped around the furniture, heading for the restroom.

"Is she all right?" Ed asked Franz what Winry was thinking.

Franz nodded. "Sara's fine," he replied vaguely. Winry caught a slightly amused look on her son-in-law's face though as he picked up his drink and took a long slow sip over Trisha's head.

If Winry hadn't already been mildly suspicious, she would have been more now. Especially after that little evasion. "Is she…?"

"If I mention classified information without the permission of my wife I'll be court-martialed," Franz replied flatly, but he was obviously trying not to laugh into his cup.

Winry and Ed exchanged a glance. "Of course," Winry agreed easily. "We wouldn't want to get you in trouble." Sara obviously wanted to be the one to tell them.

A minute later Sara was back, looking a little green but otherwise much more comfortable. Even though they didn't say anything, Sara gave them all a look when everyone looked in her direction. Winry suspected their realization was already clear. She sighed, gave Franz a dirty look, and sat down. "Do you need an official announcement or have you already figured it out?"

Winry let herself smile instead of trying to keep it in anymore. "How long have you known?" she asked curiously.

"Not long," Sara admitted. "We found out before the trip. It was just a little early yet to go spreading the news around. You don't mind do you?" She looked between them.

"Of course not," Ed smirked.

"It's your news," Winry pointed out. "You have the right to tell us whenever you want to."

Sara smiled. "Now that you already know I'm pregnant does it make much difference?"

"Well it does leave me with plenty of questions," Winry laughed. "When are you due?"

"Late July or early August," Sara replied as she situated herself comfortably against Franz again. "And before you ask," she smirked, "This one was planned."

Trisha looked thoroughly confused. "What's due?"

Sara turned to her daughter, smiling. "In a few months you're going to have a little brother or sister."

Winry watched her granddaughter's face light up. Then Trisha squealed and the only thing that kept her from tackling Sara with a hug was Franz's well-timed interception. Trisha hugged him instead. "Yay! A baby! I gotta tell Roy! I get to be a sister!"Of course her first thought was to tell her best friend about it.

"You can tell him later," Sara replied. "We're having dinner with their family in a couple of days."

Trisha giggled some more, but finally settled down a little. Winry suspected that Tore's vanishing act over to the Bredas' to do homework with Charisa was at least partially motivated by the house guests. Not that Tore minded Sara, Franz, and Trisha, but given he was one of Trisha's favorite play things he probably would not have gotten anything done!

Fortunately, in a few months Trisha would have a new favorite playmate.