The train from Central arrived at Resembool station dot on time. A lone young woman got off the train with a heavy green trunk. She was dressed in a sea blue sundress with a white cotton jacket to go with it. A white hat sat perched on her head and strongly contrasted her wavy raven hair that went halfway down her back. The station was deserted and so the young lady dragged her heavy trunk with her to the dusty road outside.

She brought out her diary and checked for the address of the inn where she was to stay. Having done that, she turned to the left and started walking towards the inn. The view around her was breathtaking. Beautiful spring grass grew wherever there was a patch of soil and gave of a relaxing earthy scent that soothed her senses.' This place is quite beautiful' she thought to herself as she inhaled fresh country air. 'I might as well make the most of my leave and enjoy it. However, I must first visit the Rockbell doctors'- they had been so kind to her. She had asked them for their address years ago when she was a little child and was desperately hoping that they had not moved to some other place. Though times had been bad back then for her, the thought of the Rockbells always made her smile. She was also anxious to meet their daughter who she speculated must be the same age as her.

She stopped in front of a small building that had a rusty 'resembool inn 'board on it. She entered and asked for her room. Only a room on the second floor was available and so, she began to make her long journey to her room. As she ascended the staircase, she felt herself being watched, turning around she found herself being leered at by five burly men who were standing by the main door. A chill went up her spine and she rushed up the remaining stairs with a now seemingly weightless trunk, opened her room door and slammed it shut after tumbling in. Exhaustion finally caught up with her And she crashed clumsily onto the single bed and closed her eyes. Her mind was racing with thoughts of what she must say when she would meet the Rockbells in the evening.

In another part of town in a secluded house-cum-auto mail repair shop, a young blonde man was having a rather difficult time putting diapers on his two toddlers. He was interrupted by a phone call from Xing-

"Edward, Alphonse is on the line, he says that he has something to tell you!" old granny Pinako called.

Ed carried the babies downstairs along with a bag of soiled diapers with him. He put the kids down in their playpen and said "I'm just going to talk with your Uncle ok ...stay right there and play with your teddy.'

"I wanta tok to unc Al!"

"Alby-"

"Tish wanta talk too!" said Alby who was quite the blabbermouth. Trisha meanwhile mumbled quietly to herself, content in her own world.

"Ok, Ok…let daddy talk" and with that he walked over to the phone placed in the passageway near the front door .Unconsciously, he dumped the soiled diapers onto the counter as he picked up the receiver.

"Hey Al"

"Hi Brother, how have you all been keeping?"

"Good, good …the kids have grown; they're quite a handful though."

"That's nice I really want to meet them. Anyway, I just called to say that I won't be able to visit this month you liked we had planned earlier. I'm deep into Alkahestry and will be meeting some renowned scholars this week. Mei says that I should stay for a month more and finish my studies, so I guess I'll do that. You know, Brother, she's been acting strange lately ….especially when I talk of coming back home. I just don't understand."

"Ah….so you won't be coming …that's alright. This bean sprout girl….is something going on with you two?"

"BROTHER! Do not call her that and it's not what you think …we have a purely platonic relationship. You have to remember that she is a princess and I'm just a state guest."

"That's okay….but I'll try not to call her bean sprout girl as she just might be my future sister-in-law. "said Ed laughing.

"Brother!"

All right Al, I won't tease you "said Ed smirking, he was happy that Al was finally enjoying the life that he deserved from the very beginning.

"Fine …bye ...I'll be coming at the end of next month."

"I'll be waiting. Bye Al."

"And …you should go out more often and do what makes you happy ….that would make Winry happy too." Alphonse said rather seriously. Ed shivered at the mention of Winry.

"Okay …Alby's crying got to go …bye ."Ed said eager to get off the phone now that Winry had been brought into the conversation.

Winry …his late wife, his heart ached when he thought of the day she died. He didn't understand why she had to die so young , why she never got to see her daughter or teach her son the alphabets when that was all she had talked about the nine months of her pregnancy ,while he undeserving as he was he got to live with them and see their sunny smiles every single day.

He decided he wanted some time off to be by himself. After confirming that granny Pinako was there to look after the children, Ed stalked off to his room, sat himself on the bed and stared at the wall in front of him blankly. A picture of Winry and him stared back. Tilting his head to a side, he eyed the photograph. Granny Pinako had taken the picture after Winry had told him that he was going to be a father. In it, a bemused Winry was smiling at his grinning face.

He looked at Winry's face aware of the fact that he could never bring back those happy times. He had safely kept the wrench that she used to smack him with in his drawers. It brought back memories of the time when he would come home with broken auto mail and be welcomed with a wrench, a time when he couldn't imagine confessing his feelings for her lest she hit him again. There had been quite a few fights but that had only brought them closer, close enough to understand each other's temperaments and reasons. Then one day she had to go- go far away to a place where he could not reach her in this lifetime. With a sigh, he got up and reached for a photo of Trisha and Albert that stood on his bedside table. Alby was a carbon copy of him and was very talkative, maybe he got that from his mom. Trisha on the other hand was everything like Winry. Her baby blue eyes sparkled intelligently just the way her mother's did when she came up with innovative ideas regarding auto mail. 'They are my life now. 'Ed thoughtrunning a hand over the picturehe got up and decided to take a shower. After returning the picture to its place, he grabbed a towel from his closet and made his way to the bathroom. However, at that moment the bell rang, so he went down to get the door.

'Its probably a some official document from central that Mustang has sent. He really won't let me enjoy my leave will he.' He grumbled as he yanked the door open with a little too much force. The visitor did not seem prepared for this and stumbled forward colliding with his chest.

.