I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Ed's Point of View

The next day was my follow up appointment. Roy wanted to come along but I managed to dissuade him. Reluctantly he agreed to stay home and to get ready for us to go shopping. He decided to clean out the fridge and cabinets while I was gone to keep himself busy.

I was waiting in the exam room before the doctor walked in. He had my file in hand. The look on his face made my heart sink. It didn't seem good.

He sat down in front of me and rubbed his face. There was no hint of the playfulness from yesterday.

"Oh God… how bad is it?" I asked, though I didn't really want to know.

"We need to run more tests to be one hundred percent positive, but it appears that your essential organs are starting to all shut down. By the looks of it, even with medicine you don't have long. There is nothing we can do. You really are going to die this time."

I was silent for a long time. I didn't know what to say. I thought back to the last time I heard those words. It didn't seem right. It couldn't be.

"But I feel fine. Other than the other day, I haven't felt anywhere close to how I did before."

"That is because it is just starting. Your organs are all still working at ninety-five percent. We expect that to drop. All indicators are pointing to a rapid decline. Only your brain is fully functioning."

"How long?"

He said nothing.

"Tell me!"

"Six months at most. That isn't the only problem though."

"What? What else is wrong with me?"

"Eden, when was your last period?"

"Um… I don't know. A few months? But you said the medication could mess with that so i didn't worry. Why?"

"Your estrogen levels are increased. Your pregnant. By the look of it, you won't be able to carry the baby to term. Chances are that you are going to end up passing before then."

Of everything that he could have said to me, that caused me to shut down.

Mustang's Point of View

It seemed like an eternity before Eden returned. When she did she had a big smile on her face even though her cheeks were red and puffy. She came up to me and kissed me hard.

"Well? How was it? Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yup! Everything is great! For the time being at least everything is working like they should. I am officially allowed to be off my medicine. I may be withdrawing a bit so we will just have to watch out for that. But other than that, everything will be great!"

Tears came to my eyes. I hugged her tight. Was the nightmare that became the past few days going to end? Was it all just a big joke in the first place? I didn't know, nor did I care. I had her. I had my Eden. She was alive and well.

So why did it all feel too good to be true?

Ed's Point of View

Dear Roy,

It is two days from when you found out about my condition. It is also the day I started to lie to you again. I am sorry. I am so, so, sorry. But there is nothing anyone can do. It is official. I am really going to die this time.

There will be no miraculous recovery. There is nothing the doctor- that any doctor can do for me. With the exception of my brain, all my essential organs are shutting down. All of them. There is no treatment that they can do without knowing the cause. That would require months in the hospital. I don't have that long. I need to get Alphonse back to the way he once was. I have to. You have no idea how terrified I am of failing. I have spent years trying to fix him. Now I only have six months.

I need to optimize our search method. I am going to devote a month to research. After that Al and I will hit the road. I know that once I leave unless our search brings us back to central, I will never see you again. I don't think I will be able to call either. Hearing your voice just might cause me to break down again. I can't have that. I already cried my eyes out. However I hope you are able to have the one thing I am giving up comfort in my last months to give you. I'm pregnant. You are going to be a father.

The doctor gave me the chances of the baby being delivered alive from my corpse. I don't have long enough to live to give birth to it. It is a shame really. I would love to be able to see the little being that we created. It seems that most of my life I have been trying to create life. Go figure that when I am finally able to I won't even be able to see the end result.

I really hope that I am able to give you a live baby. I am going off of all my medication for this, so you better appreciate this bastard. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that the baby is healthy. A part of me wishes that I could put my search with Al on hold, but I can't. I just can't. I owe my brother more than that. He actually has a future. I cannot force him to spend it in his armor. That is the last thing I would ever do.

Fear grips my heart. I am so afraid of failure. I am so afraid of death. I hate to leave you behind. I don't think I can tell you about the baby. You would force me to stay. I think I have beaten you over the head with why I can't so that.

Do me a favor? When you find out about the baby, don't be mad. Be happy. If it lives, care for it. Do not leave the role of father for someone else. That responsibility is meant for you and you alone. Maybe someday you will find someone else to take the role of mother.

I want you to find happiness. Find someone better than me. Find someone who will put you first. Don't find another me. I never deserved you. Thank you though for making me feel like I did.

I wish I could enjoy this last month that I have with you, but I know that will be impossible. I have too much to do. I hate this. I am running out of time. My letters will become scarce. I am sorry. I wanted to give you as many letters as possible. I am sorry. I can never do anything right.

Love you eternally,

Eden.

Dear Al,

Hey. It has been a bit since I wrote a letter to you instead of just giving Mustang instructions. I don't even know where to begin.

Mustang found out about my condition. I thought I was getting to be okay with it until my doctor told me that I only have a few months left. Since I can't spend them with him I decided to lie to him. I couldn't tell him that I only had six months and that I wasn't going to be here for the majority of it.

I swear to you Al, I will return you to your body. I refuse to die with you not returned to normal. That being said you will be seeing me at my worse. I know I should solely put my focus in you, but I am going off my meds so that I can give my baby a fighting chance. That is right. You are going to be an uncle. I hope you don't hate me for it. This will be another thing I will be trying to hide from you. I know that if you find out you will halt our search. I won't allow that. I don't have the time. Not that I doubt your abilities, but you can't do this without me. I won't let you.

I know you will be a great uncle. Hell, you would be a better mother than I could ever be. If it isn't too much to ask, help Mustang in any way you can. He will need you to help him get through this. Try to keep him from doing anything stupid. He is prone to do so. Because of the baby I don't want him trying anything. Especially if the baby doesn't make it.

I trust you Al. Know that I put you first in my life. It may not have always felt like it, but I did. Or I tried to as much as possible.

I love you. Know that your big sister is so proud of you.

Eden