March 9th, 2009
Alphonse loved the happy sounds of his family. Their house may not be where his children lived anymore, but even they said it still felt like home. He was just glad that they lived close by and came over regularly. Tonight was a family meal. Will and Ren had come over, and Alyse too. Al enjoyed watching Minxia toddle around after the cats, most of which quickly vacated upstairs. Orestes at least seemed lazy enough to simply lie there and take her attentions. Will was sprawled out on the floor with his daughter, making sure she was not too affectionate with the kitty.
Gracia and Elicia were in the kitchen putting final preparations on what promised to be another delicious meal. Not that dinner was ever anything less in his house. When Al poked his head into the kitchen he saw Ren there as well.
Where was Alyse? Al knew she was here. It took him another minute to locate his daughter. He had almost missed her the first time. She was in the living room with Will and Minxia, but at the back, near the glass doors leading out onto the deck. She looked tired.
"Long day?" Al asked quietly as he joined her.
Alyse looked up from her iced tea, and gave him a small subdued smile. "Yeah, you could say that."
"Is something wrong?" Al jumped right in and asked next. He had not seen Alyse much this week, but she was definitely not as cheerful as usual.
Alyse looked up at him for several seconds before nodding slowly. "I… well, yes." It was not an overly informative answer, but Al got the feeling she didn't want to talk about it. "You haven't heard anything?" She looked surprised.
Al shook his head. "Should I have?" He was startled when tears budded in his daughter's eyes.
Alyse shrugged. "It's just unusual given how fast news travels. Vince and I aren't seeing each other… anymore." Her voice cracked on the last, though Al could tell she was trying hard to hold it together.
"Oh, honey," Al was stunned. They had been seeing each other for years. Vince had come to family gatherings and Al would have said, if asked, that he was pretty certain it would be a permanent match. Now… "What happened?"
Alyse sniffled. "Vince was interested in seeing someone else. He didn't want to be dishonest, so he told me about it and we broke up."
"Someone else?" Al felt his temper flare. After all that time he had decided he wanted to see a different girl!
Alyse turned to him then, burying her face in his chest, setting her drink down as she did so. Al's arms closed instinctively around her in a comforting hug. "Don't kill him, Daddy. At least he was honest."
"I just don't see how any smart boy could want anyone else," Al replied as his daughter hugged him back.
"Me either," Will commented. Al had forgotten he was in the room; apparently so had Alyse. Al's son had stood and come over. "Practically every guy in Central wants you. He's a moron."
"Thanks, Will," Alyse smiled despite the tears. She straightened up again. "I was so mad when it happened. But now I guess it's probably for the best. I mean, if it didn't happen now, what if it happened later?"
"That would definitely be worse," Al agreed, impressed with his daughter's maturity. But then, he supposed he should not be surprised. "Well it's his loss."
Alyse nodded. "It's been a few days. I'm getting used to it. I just didn't want to say anything yet."
"Well I've had girls pissed at me for less," Will chuckled sympathetically. "I wish they were all as classy as you."
"And where do I fit?" Ren asked as she stepped out of the kitchen, having clearly heard his last comment.
Will paused, and Al watched his son turn and give his wife a kiss. "It's hard to get classier than you, Princess."
"Smooth," Alyse giggled. Al pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her. Alyse took it and dabbed her eyes dry again. "Thanks, Dad. I think I'll go see if Mom and Grandma could use my help."
Al watched the beautiful woman his little girl had become walk into the kitchen, straightening up as she did so. He felt bad for her, but at the same time he was impressed once again with how well she handled situations like this. He knew eventually she would find the right man. He had just hoped to save her having to deal with the heartbreak of something like this in her life. He had been that fortunate. Well, either way, she would find the same happiness, he was sure of it. It would just take time.
March 10th, 1962
"False alarm, huh?" Aldon sighed, feeling a little frustrated but sympathetic as he and Cassie snuggled down into bed for the second time that night. It was almost two in the morning now.
"Unfortunately," Cassie sighed, leaning back against the pile of pillows she had stacked against the headboard so she could get comfortable. One handed rested lightly on her belly. In the dim light of the bedside lamp, Aldon could see the wriggling of their unborn child. At this point her entire stomach moved whenever the baby did, and that was most of the time. Obviously someone was running out of room. "Talk about impatient."
"Must be a girl," Aldon assured her with a sympathetic smile as he snuggled up next to her, his hand resting on top of hers.
"I meant you," Cassie retorted, though it was softened with a half-smile. "And me too," she added then. "You know this is not my idea of fun right?"
"I got the memo," Aldon promised her. "It will all be over in a few days. I mean, even if you're not in labor now, it has to happen eventually."
"You have no idea how little that is reassuring right now," Cassie sighed.
"Sure I do, but that doesn't mean it isn't my duty as the guilty husband to say it," Aldon chuckled, his hand moving off hers and gently massaging her side with a soft rubbing stroke. "Is there anything else I can do to make you more comfortable?"
"Nothing within the realms of physical possibility," Cassie replied. "Other than that," she added, pointing at his hand. "That feels wonderful."
Aldon grinned and continued his light ministrations. "Then I shall continue until you both fall asleep, or my hand falls off, whichever comes first."
March 11th, 1962
Sara would much rather have been down in the gym this morning than sitting behind her desk staring at alchemist assignments and trying to decide who to send where on the next batch. There was a combat class going on this morning she really wanted to get in on. Oh well, at least there was another one scheduled for this afternoon. She would make that one. That was probably the only thing she really disliked about her job on any day. Sitting still behind a desk for hours made her twitchy!
It was a quiet day in the office. A lot of the alchemists were out on assignment right now. The two new State Alchemists who had passed the test this year were down in the gym where her father was continuing to teach them just how much they didn't know about combat, with or without alchemy. Either way, for the moment she was the only one in her office. The other desks were empty.
At least until the door opened. Sara looked up and spotted Cal Fisher entering. "I see you're back," she commented with a wry smile. "Have a good time down south?"
Cal smirked back as he sauntered over and dropped his report on her desk. "Hot and sticky even this time of year. The Aerugo border is not my idea of a cushy assignment. Give me the mountains any day."
Since he was from further north, Sara didn't really blame him. Neither of them had been fond of the Aerugean weather. "Well at least it's taken care of," Sara pointed out as she picked up the report and looked it over. If nothing else, Cal was always thorough and he was good at getting the job done. "Was there any reality to the claim of chimeras?"
Cal shook his head. "Nope. Just a couple of noisy feral goats and a really fat coyote." The supposed chimeras had been noisy and eating up some farmers' chickens on a fairly wide-spread range.
"Pregnant female?" Sara asked.
"Nope, just a really successful thief," Cal snickered, then his expression mellowed a little. "Hey, is something up with your cousin and Miller? I heard three rumors just this morning and I saw her in the hall. She looked kind of down."
Sara wasn't surprised that Cal had heard the rumors, but she was a little startled that he had actually asked about Alyse. Usually her cousin was a no-no topic with him. Mention her at all and he'd avoid it, or find an excuse to step out. Well, the breakup wasn't a secret anymore. No harm in telling Cal about it. Probably better he got the real story than a rumor anyway. "Yeah. Miller's got a new girl. He dumped Alyse a bit over a week ago for her. I hear the new girl's some secretary over in the Quartermaster's office."
Cal winced. "The man's an idiot," he commented, looking irritated. "What kind of a guy wins a girl like Alyse and then walks away?"
"I've always wondered that," Sara commented, though she didn't point out that Cal himself could have tried harder to keep Alyse when she had ended their brief relationship. "What do you care. Are you jealous?"
Cal gave her a wary look, then smirked. "More than Miller will ever know," he admitted.
"I take it you don't plan to get involved in this," Sara replied.
"Do I look insane?" Cal snorted. "It's really none of my business."
Sara smiled at him and rested her chin on her hands on the desk. "Then why did you ask?"
Cal froze, then glowered. "To keep in the information loop if nothing else. Don't read too much into it, Twilight. I just like to avoid stepping on potential landmines when I can."
Sara watched as Cal winced at his own reference. That had been what took his leg off in the war after all. "Sorry I asked," she replied, getting back to business. "So, what do you want next? You can have your pick of the three assignments on my desk or I believe you've got some vacation due." Not that Cal ever took it. He was almost never in Central for more than a few days at a time anymore.
"Let me see what we've got," Cal commented as expected, and picked up the three forms Sara pushed his way across the desk. They were all fairly basic jobs. "I'll take this one," Cal finally said, dropped the other two back on the desk. Sara could tell he'd chosen the hydro-electric dam inspection out in the East region on one of the rivers. A logical choice for the Whitewater alchemist. "When do you want me to leave?"
"Whenever you like," Sara replied. Ordering him to take a vacation wouldn't do any good. Though she did worry that he was working too hard. Cal looked tired and worn almost every time she saw him, though he tried to hide it behind his usual smirks and carefree attitude. Sara no longer bought the act.
"I'll head out in a couple of days then," Cal promised. "Expect a primary report in a couple of weeks."
"I will," Sara nodded, putting the other two files back with the rest as Cal turned and walked right back out of the office. His desk was in the next room over though she did not expect him to remain at it long. No, she did not buy the act that said he still preferred the carefree bachelor wandering life; nor that he only asked about Alyse to avoid putting his foot in his mouth at some point. Though she didn't think that Cal was likely to do anything with that knowledge either.
Which was probably for the best, Sara thought. Making a move on Alyse right now was not likely to end well for any man. It would be a while, she was sure, before Alyse felt like getting seriously involved again.
March 14th, 1962
"Were you ever planning to get to that gardening I asked you about?" Winry peered over the back of the couch where Edward lay sprawled out on his back, reading the newspaper.
"It's Sunday morning," Ed grinned cheekily up at her. "I've got all day." It was only an hour after breakfast and he was enjoying lazing around. With new students coming in things were busy again at work. "I don't suppose you could get me a snack?"
"A snack?" Winry rolled her eyes. "We just had breakfast."
"I'm kidding," Ed admitted. "I'll get to the yard after lunch. I did help you reorganize the cellar yesterday and I cleaned up the alchemy lab."
"You did," Winry acknowledged, leaning over the couch and smiling. "I suppose you can have half a day off for good behavior."
"You make marriage sound like a prison sentence," Ed snickered.
"Don't say that too loud," Lia pleaded with a giggle as she came down the stairs. "Ethan might hear you."
"Too late," their son quipped as he limped his way out of his room. Ethan was grinning though. "Has anyone seen the book I was reading on Xingese medical massage techniques? Ren wanted my opinions on it."
"You left it on the table," Winry replied. "I put it on the bookshelf when I set the table for breakfast."
"Sorry about that," Ethan grinned sheepishly as he headed over towards the bookshelves near the kitchen. He wasn't moving quickly, but he was moving without a cane for the moment; a more common sight around the house, where he could stop or hold to things or reach a sitting place easily. Ethan happened to be closest to the phone when it rang. "I've got it," he said, picking it up. "Hello?"
Ed dropped the paper enough that he could see over it.
"Oh hi!" Ethan grinned. "Yeah frankly I've been expecting you to call for days. What took so long?" A pause. Ethan laughed. "We'll see. Well good. Yeah, I think that's great! Sure, I'll get him." He turned around. "Hey Dad, the phone's for you."
"Who is it?" Ed asked as he stood up and crossed the room. "It sounds more like it was for you."
"Well I guess really it's for everyone," Ethan said as he handed him the phone. "It's Aldon."
Ed understood immediately, and from the slight gasp behind him he knew Winry did too. "So is it a girl this time?" He asked by way of greeting.
He had clearly caught Aldon off guard. He laughed. "Feeling abrupt this morning, Dad?"
"I like to get to the point," Ed grinned. "So what is the newest member of the litter?"
"It's a boy, again," Aldon chuckled, though Ed could hear the pride in his son's voice. "I think we'll be leaving it up to Sara and Ethan to supply girls."
"Did you tell your brother that?" Ed asked.
"Yes I did," Aldon said. "I think he was amused."
Ed nodded. "So does the little guy have a name?" He turned around to face the rest of the room. Winry and Lia both looked eager.
"That's actually what we wanted to talk to you about," Aldon replied, sounding amused. "Cassie and I both agree on a name, but we wanted to run it by you first."
"Why's that?" Ed asked, startled. "He's your kid."
"Yeah," Aldon chuckled. "But it's your name! We'd like to call him Edward."
Did he hear that right? Yeah, he must have. Ed was floored. "Well I think that's great," he admitted. "I'm… well I'm honored actually," he chuckled.
"Well I'm glad you like the idea," Aldon said on the other end. "We figure he's beaten enough odds, being five for five on boys. He looks just like you too so far with the hair and his eyes are already muddled enough we know they won't be blue. Most importantly though, I think he's as stubborn as you are."
"Oh really," Ed laughed at his son's reasoning. "How do you know?"
"He was the toughest to get out and the most demanding since he's been here," Aldon replied confidently. "He was born last night, but it took nearly twenty-four hours for him to join us."
Ed winced. "How's Cassie doing?"
"Napping right now," Aldon replied. "I fed the boys breakfast and sent them out to play in the yard with the dogs. I've got the little guy for the moment," he added, and Ed could hear the smile in his son's tired voice. "We've been doing a little father and son bonding."
"Meaning you've already changed at least three diapers and your shirt for spit-up?" Ed guessed, grinning.
"Exactly," Aldon confirmed. "I gave up on the shirt after changing it twice this morning actually. The doctor left around five this morning so there's no one around to worry about being completely decent for anyway. This is just the first quiet moment I've had."
"I understand," Ed smiled. "You get a rest while you can and give Cassie and the boys a hug from us okay?"
"I will," Aldon replied. "Take care, Dad. I'll send pictures soon. Promise."
"You'd better," Ed agreed.
"Bye, Dad."
Ed hung up the phone and turned around again. Ethan was grinning like a satisfied cat.
Winry was still looking at him eagerly. "So?"
Was that a tear Ed felt in his eye? He chuckled softly at himself as he wiped it away with one finger. Man, he was getting soft-hearted. But he was surprisingly touched that his son wanted to name his youngest after him. "His name is Edward."
Author's Note: Finis. :) More coming, of course!
