Disclaimer: I OWN ED! REALLY! several men in white coats attempt to drag GoddessoftheWaters away Fine. I do not actually own anything. But hey, I do have my many pictures of Ed to look at.

Sorry, for the long wait. When I get around to replying to reviews, they will be posted on a separate web page. (Not now though, I will let you know.)

Waiting

Chapter 2: Depression

Winry Rockbell's point of view

Winry returned home from the market that evening, still thinking that she would be able to see Ed. However brief his previous visit. It had been easy to slip back into the way it used to be, having him there to comfort and hold her at the end of a long day.

"Hey!" she called, "I'm home!"

It was expected that as she walked down the soft blue-carpeted hallway that Ed would poke his head out of the living room and say hi, and maybe tease her and ask her what she had been doing all day.
It was the absence of this action that startled her; she had grown so used to him doing that, it was missing, and she could feel it missing. Consciously or unconsciously, she had admitted him to part of her daily routine. This was what she had been guarding against, why she did not want him to join the military, now that he was gone; it was as if a chunk of her life was missing.

"Great!" Aunt Pinako called from the kitchen. "You did bring the squash?"

"Yeah," Winry called back, walking into the warm kitchen where several inviting aromas were wafting. She tried to put her hands on whatever her Aunt was cooking, but was stopped by a sharp slap on the wrist.

"Save your appetite for later," she said, "It's not quite done yet. If you eat some now, when you taste it when it's done, you'll regret spoiling you appetite."

This brought back another fresh pang of memories. Al always was in the kitchen, 'keeping Aunt Pinako company' as a young child, while actually he was stealing the food and eating it before it was finished. Even after his soul was attached to the armor, he would stand in the kitchen while Aunt Pinako cooked and watch. The funny thing was, he would always have the same hearty appetite as the older Ed.

Winry sighed. Maybe that was why Ed was so short. It could not have been the lack of appetite, but he never drank his milk. Something Winry always did when she was in the kitchen. She went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of milk. She could not properly leave the kitchen without it. It just felt… wrong.

Another memory surfaced. This one was of her trying to convince Ed to drink at least one glass of milk. Suddenly, she felt her previously high spirits droop down.

"I'm not that hungry," she stated, "I'll be upstairs in my room."

Aunt Pinako shook her head. "You have to eat something, Winry. I'll call you down when it's finished."

She watched as Winry left the room. Then she shook her head. "If I didn't know any better," she muttered to herself, "I would think that Winry is missing Ed terribly."

Up in her room, Winry was staring out the window, her thoughts mulling around her head. "I can't believe I let him go like that," she thought. "I wish, I wish he would be more understanding, he has this… inability to understand what I'm going through. I love him so much, more than anything; yet, he still leaves with no second thoughts, to go after his brother. His brother, who he sees everyday. His brother who…" She stopped as she realized the implications of what she was thinking. Ed always wanted to help Al. If Al were taken, Ed would follow that person to the ends of the earth to save him. Al had not been there this past visit. Al was missing. Therefore, the reason that Ed had to leave so quickly was so that he could go and save his brother.

Winry sighed, and watched the sunset, turning the clouds a beautiful golden color, and the sky a deep pinkish red. She desperately wished that Ed would be like that with her, though she knew it was impossible. Ed could never love her with the same purity that he loved his brother with. It was this love she yearned for, though she may have settled with less. As long as she had Ed there with her, she would be happy. Without Ed, she could feel her love for him consuming her, until it became almost an obsession. She would tell him, but then not only would her love for him consume her, but his guilt for not being able to love her back would consume him, and the results could be disastrous. Besides, she could wait for him to come back.

Edward Elric's Point of View

Ed walked down the barren dirt road clutching the paper that held the address where Al was taken in his hand. Who ever kidnapped his brother was going to pay dearly for this. Roy Mustang was also going to pay. What made him think that he had a right to know everything Ed did?

Flashback

"So Ed," Mustang drawled as the short blond haired alchemist entered the office. "How's the search for the Philosopher's Stone going?"

Ed forced a smile. "It's going quite well actually. I believe that Al and I are onto something. A new lead actually." Mustang narrowed his eyes and brushed a piece of thick black hair out of his face.

"Really? I sense there is something else on your mind, Edward."

Ed sighed. Damn that Mustang, always able to tell when something was amiss.

"Is it something with your brother?"

Ed forced a small smile. "Actually yeah. I need to know exactly where this location is." He pushed the paper across the table and towards Mustang.

"What? The Full-Metal Alchemist can't read a map?" Mustang smirked and looked down at the paper, at which point his smirk promptly faded.

"What?"

"Full-Metal, this… you can't go there." It was Ed's turn to smirk.

"So you mean you know where this is?" Mustang sighed.
"Unfortunately I do. I can't permit you to go there."

"WELL, WHY THE HELL NOT? I DO HAVE TO RESCUE MY BROTHER YOU KNOW!"

"I understand, Edward. I don't like the idea of you going, and I can't willingly say that I will let you go, but I know that nothing I do will be able to stop you."

"GREAT!" Ed exclaimed grabbing the map Mustang had pushed across the table.

"You MUST get your auto-mail fixed first."

"WHAT!" Ed screeched turning around. "I HAVE TO GO RESCUE MY BROTHER!"

"Get your auto-mail fixed and then we'll talk."

"But" Ed sputtered, "It's not even broken!"

Mustang sighed. "Just do it."

Ed knew that he had no choice in the matter.

End Flashback

Well something did apparently, and this was why, that on the 3rd day of Al's capture, Ed was making his way down to the house where he should have been already. He was late, and it wasn't even his fault! How was he ever going to explain this to Al?

Trisha Elric's Point of View around 14 years ago

Trisha Elric sat at the window, her attention divided between watching her children eat and waiting for a figure to appear on the horizon. Knowing this figure would never come; she got up and got herself a bowl so she could eat. Trisha knew that she needed to get a hold of herself. If she wanted her children…and herself to survive, she needed to get over her husband…and fast.

GoddessoftheWaters random thoughts

Well, sorry for the long wait. I have had finals, and it is the weekend, so nothing to study for. (Hopefully) I can get another chapter up quickly; reviewing will help make this possible. 

Please Review!

(Oh, and I have decided to keep this story.)