A/N: Just a couple of thank yous!
Corn-dono- I'm glad you liked it so much ^___^
The-Living-Shadow- Yeah... all couples argue, so why wouldn't they? Though maybe not everyone would want to imagine this couple having issues :P As for Lucy's character... read and find out ;]
This chapter is for you guys!!
I Remember...
His body felt heavy. Everything about him was dulled. His movements were heavy, his mind was sluggish and his mouth was dry. Opening his eyes felt as though they weighed a ton as he tried to force them open. All about him was a flurry of activity. There were voices all about him, someone was talking to him. The voice sounded male and authoritative.
"Sir," said the voice.
'Sir?' he thought mildly, 'why are they calling me sir?'
"Sir- can you move?"
"Water," he rasped, "I need… water…"
There were shouts for water as the man helped him to sit up. He assumed the man was a doctor.
He sat back as nurses fussed over his drips, his physical reactions and doctors about him spoke in low voices. After about two hours, the nurses left him alone with the doctor.
"So young man, you were brought in about a month ago," said doctor.
He focused on the other man, blearily. The doctor was a middle aged man. Solidly built, there was a short greying beard covering his lower jaw. His hair was dark brown, speckled with grey and white. His skin was fair, his eyes a kindly green. He looked like the sort of approachable doctor.
"Why?" the younger man asked.
"You don't know?"
He shook his head.
"You were in an accident, a severe one. You still need to recover from your injuries you endured from that time," he indicated at the younger man's leg, and arm.
"Clearly…" the reply was reproachful and dry.
The doctor cleared his throat. "Now, this might appear tedious, but we must ask all coma patients these simple questions. Now- first of all, where are you from?"
He paused. Then frowned. "I don't know."
The doctor looked puzzled, "never mind, you're still a little dazed, it's understandable. Though if I had to hazard a guess I'd say Ishbal."
The name made no difference to the young man, he simply shrugged. Then he frowned. Ishbal… that was a place. Shouldn't he then be aware of it? What were other place- he cut his mind off. He could remember nothing of the country… world he was in.
"Uh doc…" he said slowly, "I…don't know anything…"
"What?"
"If Ishbal's a place I should know it…"
"Yes."
"I have no idea where it is, what it's like- nothing. I dunno anything."
"Your own name?"
He pondered for moment and shrugged. "Nothing."
"Family?"
He frowned. He had an image. Faint. Distant. A girl… no… a young woman. Dark skinned, yet lighter than him… he got no further. He shook his head. "Nope."
The doctor sighed. "This is a problem…" he shook his head, "well we do know what your name is, but anything else is a mystery." He paused. "But we have two pieces of good news… we know your name, it was on your papers."
"What is it?" he could not believe he was asking what his own name was.
"Zarraq Nabeel."
"Zarraq Nabeel…" he said slowly, almost testing it. "Zarraq… Nabeel." He wandered if it meant anything. Why his mother had chosen it. Of it his father had. Or if he had a sibling… he tried to imagine what their name would be. What they might look at… which was fruitless considering he had no idea what his own appearance. He pushed those thoughts aside- there was no need for them just then. "Right… and the second piece of good news?"
"We have a brilliant psychiatrist here that has exercise to help you regain memory… we have a lot of accidents here, so memory loss is not uncommon here."
"Well… that's good," Zarraq nodded, "so how long will I have to stay here?"
"Judging by your condition and your mental state… we have a long time to spend together."
*
"What so big sister wasn't there?" asked Elysia, interrupting his story. Zarraq looked at her shaking his head.
"Not yet," he said, "it was another two months before she arrived."
"What did you do in that time?" asked Edward, his arm around Winry, who had arrived a little while after the story had started.
"Tried to get my body back up to scratch," he shrugged, "and get my memory back. I never got anything. Not until Tash came and found me."
*
Zarraq had been sitting in the room he had been allocated as he recuperated when he heard the shouting. Curious, he sat up, and put the book he had been reading down. The shouting had become more and more audible and decipherable. It was female, probably a young woman. By the pitch he guessed about a ten years or so younger than him, give or take, shouting at a nurse. Francis if his memory served him.
"He's my damn brother!" the stranger screamed.
"Yes but you don't understand-"
"No I don't! And I don't care- just let me see him!"
"Miss don't-"
"Don't touch me!"
The door suddenly burst open. Standing near the foot of his bed, in dirty, scruffy shorts and t-shirt, was a young woman. She had dark skin a shade or two lighter than his, black hair with a shock of silver running through it, like his. She had slimmer features than his, and she wore sunglasses over her eyes. She wore study dusty shoes and for some reason, gloves. Her left limbs were metal, automail, and clearly good quality to. She was staring at him as though she had seen a ghost, but the experience had been pleasant.
All of a sudden a grin broke out on her face and she rushed towards him. For some reason, and he didn't know why either, he let her, watching her curiously. But she as she reached him, she stopped. Her arms dropped, her body went slack.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked in a small voice. She looked as though she could have been in her late teens. Somehow, Zarraq was certain this was not the case.
He shook his head. "I can't remember your name… but I'm sure I remember you…"
She cracked a smile. "That's good enough for me," she reached out her right hand, "I'm Chaandi Natasha Nabeel-Fuller. Your sister. Half sister if you want to be technical."
Zarraq squinted at her face. Half formed memories flitted through his mind. But none of them stayed for long. They were all induced by this girl. His sister. Even stranger, he did not even question the validity of what she said. It wasn't just the similarity in feature, or the shock of white in their hair, it was something about her. About what she said.
He took her hand hesitantly.
"I figured you'd loose your memory. Last time I saw you, you were whacked in the head with a large chunk of concrete."
That explained the memory loss.
"What happened?"
"Big fight," she explained, "the bastard decided blowing up half the building would be a good idea. We got separated. When I woke up, I was alone… so…" she flushed red, "I've spent the last three months looking for you…" she smiled. It was distant, distracted and the softest she could manage. Again, Zarraq found himself knowing this was normal for her "Now I've found you."
"Yeah…" he agreed gently, "guess you have."
She sat on the bed with him. "So now I guess I have to explain everything to you."
Zarraq pushed himself further up his pillow and nodded excitedly. "Yes!"
She grinned. "It's nice to see not all of your personality has changed… you're as excitable as ever." She paused the think. Looking up at the ceiling.
Just beyond her, Zarraq saw the nurses muttering worriedly. But they caught sight of him glaring at them. Without thinking, he reached out and took the girl's hand. The girl, though deep in thought, squeezed his hand hard. It felt right. It just… felt right to him.
"I think… we'll start with how we're related."
"You're my sister."
"It's… a little more complicated than that," she hesitated, then "you see, our mother…"
*
"She stayed for three months, maybe a little more," Zarraq's eyes were a little glossy, his fingers twisted in his lap.
He clearly missed his sister, hadn't seen her since. The people around him felt their stomachs drop as they realised Lucy was not with him, and she was still out travelling, looking for her traitorous half brother… alone.
"She helped me with my therapy, and never left my side, apparently she even slept sitting in the chair next to me, though she always told me she had a hotel else where. I learned very quickly she's stubborn. She explain the geography of where we are, the politics, the sciences- to the best of her abilities. And soon my general knowledge of this world came back to me. So she explain how our mother was Ishballan, but her father was Armestrian and mine Ishaballan. From there she explained that we got separated when I was fifteen and she was five, then how mum died when she was seven…" he frowned, "she never went into detail about what happened when we saw each other though."
'I don't blame her,' both Edward and Winry thought, Winry's hand squeezed Edward's as he squeezed back in reply.
"And she told me all about you," he smiled around at all of them, "how you brought her in, looked after her, then… eventually… sort of took me in. Though she did warn me Edward-"
"Ed-" he interrupted, "I like Ed."
"Oh… she warned me Ed might not like me as much as the others." He flushed a little with embarrassment. "I expect it's something to do with what I've done in the past," his long dark fingers folded and unfolded in his lap, "but Tash didn't tell me all of it… she said I'd remember eventually, or I'll learn when the time comes."
Gracia nodded, and came to sit beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Your memories will come back eventually, until then, you have us for references, all right?"
"Thank you, aunt Gracia," he smiled, then something seemed to hit him, "oh yes! The letters!"
He got up and went to his suitcase, and quickly opened it to rummage through it. He kept muttering to himself angrily… in the Ishballan language it seemed. The others watched him curiously. This was his same personality, but only when he was overtly calm or dazed. Though they reasoned, privately, that having lost his memories, that was understandable. Now that he was looking for something and couldn't find it, he had momentarily returned to his more usual gruff persona.
"Found it," he said, sounding satisfied.
He walked back and sat down. In his hands were envelopes. They looked a little worn, but otherwise in decent condition.
"These are from Tash," he said, "she gave them to me the day she left… looking for Theodore Fuller." One by one he gave them out, one each but two for Gracia. By the end of it he was left holding three.
"Al, Rose and Leo," he explained, "when will we see them?"
"Rose and Leo we'll probably see tomorrow, Leo and me go to school together," Elysia said brightly, "Al come home next week I think."
"He's on a mission? He's an alchemist now?"
"Has been for a year," nodded Edward, looking a little disgruntled, "he's the Azure Alchemist."
Zarraq frowned. "Azure alchemist? That…" he seemed to be concentrating on something hard, "Blake Fuller… Tash's father…"
Gracia's face softened as she remembered the man who had Maes had grown up with as an older brother. Even she looked to him as a brother-in-law. "Yeah… he's the first to take the title since Blake. I think Roy pushed it through."
"Tash'll be happy," said Zarraq mildly, "at least I think she will… she always seemed a little distracted when she spoke about her father to me."
The others forced themselves not to look at each. It must have been painful for the young woman to tell her brother who she was trying to rebuild a relationship with how awfully he had treated her in the past an why. Of coarse now he seemed perfectly reasonable, but memory loss did strange things to people.
"I take it Tash isn't here yet though…" he said slowly.
"No," supplied Elysia, "we thought she was with you."
"Oh…" his face creased with worry, "I thought she'd be here by now… she said she'd be back here soon…"
"Don't worry," Elysia took his hand, "she likes travelling, she might just be catching up with a few friends before she comes back. She'll be home soon."
Gracia's eyes shone as she looked at her daughter. It was the first time in months she sounded even the slightest bit optimistic. Despite the fact she was getting into fights and lacked the ability to control her temper just yet, Gracia could not bring herself to tell the child off. She had every reason to be an angry child. Yet here she was comforting a thirty year old man because he was worried about his sister that she had been worrying for since the young woman had left three years previously.
Elysia had strength and depth of character that Gracia did not think was possible in such a little person, not quite hitting the prepubescent years.
She was taller, of coarse, but none of the overtly feminine traits had become very obvious yet. The only thing that gave her away to be female was her long honey coloured hair and the shape of her face. Though she was fully aware that soon such changes would happen, and she wasn't looking foreword to explaining these changes to the young girl without help. She had hoped with Tash there, life would have been easier. Since her niece had left, the dread had been creeping back in.
"Zarraq," Elysia asked suddenly, as these half formed thoughts chased each other in Gracia's mind, "where are you staying?"
There was a moment's quiet as Zarraq tried to formulate an answer and what the little girl had said had reached through to Gracia.
"With me."
Everyone turned to look at Winry, surprised.
"With you?" Edward sounded incredulous.
"Of coarse, where else will he stay? The study here might have a bed, but it's covered in boxes, lets me honest- you have more books than you really need in this house."
"I like reading!" protested Elysia.
"And there is no need for him to rent out a room from anyone when I've got a perfectly good room upstairs, with its own bathroom, so no embarrassing encounters," she shrugged, "it just makes sense."
"B- b- b-," stammered Zarraq, "I can't… I don't want to impo-"
"You sound like your sister," chuckled Winry, "she was just the same." She sighed. "Look, you're Gracia's nephew, you're coming to come and stay here eventually. But, for the moment they have no where to move their book boxes out of their study, which will be your room until you get yourself on your feet. So, once they have sorted out that room, you can come stay there, once you get a job, we'll help you find your own place. I mean… you hardly want to come back here with a woman after hours now would you?"
Zarraq face flushed the darkest red imaginable on a man his complexion. It was all he could do to simply shake his head. That was something different about him. But then again with the memory loss, he would have little idea of how to deal with women in general. It was like teaching a five year old how to live a thirty year old's life at his point. They were all looking foreword to when his memory came back… and his regular gruff, brisk state was back again.
"I… I guess not…"
"You don't mind do you, Gracia? We'll help you sort out the room, but it just makes sense for the moment. And we all know Lucy'll throw a fit if anyone goes into her room."
Gracia nodded. "It makes sense."
"All right then, it's decided," Winry nodded, she got up, out of Edward's grasp and put her hand out to him, "right roomie?"
He chuckled and took her slim calloused hand. "Thanks," he said, "I owe you."
"Well do a couple of shifts for me in the workshop and you got yourself a proper deal."
Edward sat on the floor looking a little stunned, then got to his feet. "Winry, can I speak to you outside for a moment?"
"Uh… sure."
Zarraq watched the two leave, and frowned. His already confused mind wandered for a moment at the couples current relationship. From what he knew, from what Tash had told him, they were a happy working couple. Though to be fair, she hadn't heard from them in a long time when she had spoken to him.
"So!" said Elysia, "do you remember any of the Ishballan stories? You liked to tell me those."
He looked at the little girl. She looked almost nothing like his sister Tash. But there was a similarity there. In the eyes definitely. Yet… there was something more too. An aura? Their spirits? Something like that surely… What was even stranger was the fact that he felt comfortable around this little girl… a girl who was young enough to be his daughter, or even his sister the way their family had worked out.
Their eyes, skin, background… everything was differently, but he felt comfortable with this little girl. Like he had done with his little sister. As he watched her, trying to grasp at the straws of his half erased memories, he found one.
He was sitting on the sofa. The same one where he was just then. He was with Elysia, she was significantly smaller, curled up in his arm. He was reading to her, she was half asleep. She was upset, he was worried. Edward had just walked and and he had indicated that the blonde boy should stay quiet.
The visual memory faded as quickly as it had come. And while the memory had not supplied any extra information, it had confirmed that he had come to this house, he had been with these people and he had felt comfortable around them. It was another picture of memory that he thoughts had been lost. It was back. It was better than nothing.
"I remember a little," he admitted, "which one do you want to hear? Tash told me a few."
*
"What is it?" asked Winry tiredly.
"You hardly know the man!" grumbled Edward, having walked into Gracia's jumble of a study.
"I know him well enough. He's Lucy's brother, he was gruff, but kind. Mislead but learning his ways. And now he has no memories at all. We had to look after him."
"But… your spare room? Isn't that-"
Winry smiled at him gently, putting a hand on his face. He cut himself off. She pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed him softly.
"I love how you worry about me," she said quietly, "you shouldn't. Zarraq's always had a soft side, Lucy managed to get him to show it even more. He'll be fine."
"But Win…" he trailed off, not sure how to express himself as usual.
"Stay with me," she said suddenly.
"What?"
"Until Al comes home, stay with me. You can see first hand that he's fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Of coarse. Look I know you trust me, and not him, bt… c'mon… he's sort of… lost… and he's Lucy's brother, we can hardly turn him away."
Edward grumbled under his breath but said nothing. He felt better knowing he'd be there with Winry the whole the time. He could make sure nothing happened to her. It definitely made him feel better.
"You know… she kinda cute when you make that face."
He blushed fiery red, "no I do not! C'mon, we'll get Zarraq to come back with us."
"We need dinner first," chuckled Winry, "don't be in such a hurry."
"Fiiiine…"
The couple re-entered the living room, Edward with his arm around Winry's shoulders (Protectively? Possessively? Winry hadn't made her mind up… neither had Edward). Elysia and Zarraq seemed to be talking.
Elysia was talking, Zarraq was nodding, appearing to be a little bemused.
Gracia had left the room, Edward suspected to get dinner ready.
"Keep an eye on them," sighed Edward, "I don't like what Elysia's doing to the poor guy… I'm gonna check on Gracia."
"You do that," chuckled Winry, she was rather proud of the dominating Elysia. The little girl reminded Winry of herself as a child; confident, dominant and not someone anyone wanted to mess with.
Edward kissed her head, knowing full well that Winry was remembering herself as a child. As he left her, he almost shuddered. She'd always been too violent for her own good. Though Elysia seemed to be better with words than with physical force.
He frowned as he headed into the kitchen. Though her physical force was clearly developing if her recent scuffles in school was anything to go by. Something he was rather upset about.
Maes Hughes had been an eccentric, but he had always wanted peace. His ultimate goal was for peace. Which was why he wanted to support Mustang in going to the top- with Mustang at the top, a man who had experienced the hell of war first hand, peace was more likely. Edward was sure that even if Hughes wasn't there physically, his presence was still felt by his friends and family. It was seen most obviously in Elysia, though just then, she wasn't showing it all that peacefully. But her fierce loyalty, and somewhat eccentric ideas, were clearly taken straight from her father. Her softer points, her mother. She was a strangely balanced child despite being surrounded by soldiers, alchemists and otherwise. Though that was in his mind, at her age Edward could remember trying to bring his mother back to life.
For a moment, he touched his metal right arm, then dropped his hand again. He had lost his limbs again to give his brother his whole body back. He was satisfied.
He heard a quiet sob, and he was pulled back sharply into reality.
He looked up to see Gracia standing over the sink, her pale cheeks flushed pink, a hand to her forehead with the water running. Stained black tears from her mascara stained the pink in her cheeks.
Not thinking twice, Edward strode over to her side, turned to face him and hugged her. He adored being taller than people, he felt more adequate to protect them. He wasn't sure what she needed protecting from, but he was going to try anyway.
Slowly her hands reached around and she returned the hug, her forehead rest on his chest as she slowly regained control of her breathing.
"Tash?" he asked, using Gracia's name for the younger woman.
Wordlessly Gracia nodded. She took a deep breath, then stepped out of Edward's embrace. "I'm just… I just… What if she's hurt Ed? What if that… that… that man's done something to her? What if we never… never see her again?" she was trying not to cry again, fighting it. And failing. Her eyes were glossy with tears.
"Gracia," he took her hands, "Gracia… think about who you're talking about. She is Chaandi Natasha Nabeel-Fuller-. She's Lucy. She's not about to let a man who ruined her life over here get the better of her. She's too damn stubborn and annoying for that." He meant every word.
Gracia smiled to herself. But soon it was replaced by a look of anguish. "But… what if I never see her again?" she whispered.
Edward had never seen her like this. She worried when Elysia was home late, and always got very upset about when it happened. Yet generally… she wasn't a paranoid woman. Throughout the three years she had been the optimist. She had been the one to tell them everything would be ok. Everything would go back to how it was once Tash and Zarraq got home. And now she was breaking down in front of him… the other at least sort of mother figure in his life, a woman who took him in and hated to let him out of her sight ever since. The wife of a man whom he owed a lot to.
"It's just that…" she said slowly, "Zarraq is so big… he's so strong physically… he has all his limbs, and he was just… if not more stubborn than Tash. ANd… he got so hurt… he can't remember anything."
"Yes, but she always knew what attitude to take when in different environments. She knew how to treat people. Maybe not how to interact with them, that's a different problem."
Gracia chuckled. Edward's own mouth turned up a little smile.
"She'll be fine… she always is. Few bumps and scratches on the way, that's how it goes right? Besides- she's travelling, she's going from city to city… country to country… it's what she does best isn't it?"
"I supposed," sighed Gracia, "that's, sweetie… I just…"
"Panicked? We all get like that from time to time."
"Not you, surely."
Edward made a face and was suddenly grateful Winry and Alphonse were not within earshot. His own panickings were utterly embarrassing. He needed to at least pretend his were not so noticeable. "Everyone does, it's just not always as obvious… it depends on the person."
She laughed again. She paused and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead. "Thank you Ed," she said, releasing him as he flushed pink, "I needed that."
"I know… now what's for dinner?!"
Another laugh escaped her throat. Edward sometimes reminded her of a puppy, sometimes a lion. it depended on his mood. Just then he was like a puppy who was looking for food or someone to irritate. It was what Gracia liked about the boy… his ability to be able to shift according to the situation and atmosphere surrounding him.
As they set the table and called the others into to eat, Gracia realised there was no way she could loose hope for her niece. Zarraq was back, calmer and more sedate than normal for the time being. That was proof enough. If he could get back with memory loss, surely Blake and Zulekha's daughter could get back with her memory functions completely intact.
She smiled, laughed, interacted… she could not wait for her adoptive daughter to return to them… to make them feel like a family again.
