Chapter Seven: FREE!!

So it went for six months. Ed, Toby, Armstrong, and Mustang went on patrol everyday. Some days it was fine and everything was peaceful and others they fought from sunrise to sunset. The four of them spent all their time at the camp in their tent unless they ventured out for food (which wasn't really food it was field rations) or to use the bathroom which was located beside their tent. Ed, Toby, and Mustang only got smashed after a particularly gruesome battle which grew farther and father apart as time went on. Most nights they stayed in their tent playing strip poker which Toby was a shark at. The most she ever lost in a game was two shoes, a sock, and a glove. The boys however wound up shivering by the sixth hand. By the second month they were there Toby owned every piece of clothing they had and she merely let them wear them. Other nights Armstrong would bore them with tales of his family's greatness. When this happened Mustang would fall asleep, Toby would remember something she had to do outside the tent, and Ed would get stuck hearing tales of Armstrong greatness.

The four of them became friends quickly largely because they were continually saving each others asses in battle or waking each other up when they began screaming which happened almost nightly. Every time one of them got wounded Toby would patch them up no problem.

Ed got to talk to Al a few times but every time he talked to him Ed felt kind of weird. Like they were on different planets. Al always sounded so happy and Ed always lied and told him he was fine, even when he had some bullet wound on his body. Ed wondered what it would be like to go back to a world where he didn't have to worry about suicide bombers and getting shot at everyday.

One day six months after they'd arrived Armstrong was boring Ed with more family history. The man never seemed to run out of stories. Mustang was snoring loudly from his bunk and Toby was out doing god knew what.

"…then my great-grandfather Tomas…" Armstrong was saying when they heard the unmistakable sound of Toby yelling. Both of them fell silent and Mustang sat up and looked at the tent flap. They listened as Toby got closer, she was yelling all the way.

"What the hell is she on about now?" Mustang asked.

"Hey I thought you were asleep," Ed said. Mustang just shrugged and watched as Toby flew into the tent. She had the biggest grin they had ever seen on her face. She stopped and looked at them.

"Smile. We're free," she said as she bounced happily around the tent. The three of them watched her. If they had learned anything in the last six month it was that Toby had the worst case of ADHD in history and a temper worse than Ed's. About a week after they'd arrived one of the men had made the mistake of asking Mustang how much it would cost to barrow Toby for a night. Before Mustang could answer Toby had tackled the guy. After he got out of the hospital tent Toby had made it a life's goal to make his life miserable. The solder was still on latrine duty and would probably be cleaning out toilets until his dieing days.

"She finally lost it," Mustang said.

"Ya," Ed said as he watched Toby leap on her bed and start jumping up and down.

"Yay! We're free! Gone bye-bye we will!" she cried. Mustang got up and walked over to the side of her bunk. He looked up at her and shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I told you we're FREE!!" she said.

"Great now we're stuck with an insane female instead of just a crazy one," he said. Toby stopped jumping on her bed and grinned down at him.

"You are so stupid sometimes it's cute," she said before she swooped down and hugged him. Mustang stood in shock as she kissed his cheek and hugged him harder.

"What is she doing?" Armstrong asked staring at her. Mustang grinned at him.

"I have no clue but far be it from me to stop her," he said.

"You really are an old pervert," Ed said. Toby looked at him and grinned. She launched herself on him and kissed his forehead. Ed just stood for a minute than grinned

"And you are a horny teenager," Mustang told him. Ed just grinned wider as Toby kissed him again and launched herself on Armstrong. When she hugged him his little pink sparkles appeared. She kissed Armstrong's cheek before leaping onto Armstrong's bunk then over to Mustang's bed and doing a back flip.

"YES! FREE! HAHAHA! YAY!" she cried jumping up and down. The three men watched her from across the room.

"As much as I'm enjoying watching this we should really find out what she's going on about," Mustang said after a few minutes.

"Do we have to? It's kind of nice," Ed said dreamily.

"Yes Edward we must," Armstrong said. Ed pouted at the huge blond man as he walked forward and caught Toby. She pouted and glared at him from his arms.

"Why'd you do that?' she asked sounding very put out.

"Because we don't understand what you're saying," Armstrong told her.

"I said we're free. The war's over. The rebel leader signed a surrender. We're going home tomorrow," she told him. Armstrong was so shocked that he dropped her. She landed on her butt with a small 'oof '. The three of them stared at her in disbelief.

"It's over?" Mustang asked.

"We're going home?" Ed asked. Toby jumped up onto Mustang's bunk again and began bouncing.

"YES! YES! WE'RE GOING HOME! REAL FOOD! A REAL BED! HOT WATER! A FLUSHING TOILET!" she cried as she fell backwards onto the bed. The three men looked at each other and smiled. It was the first time any of them had really smiled in six months.

"YES!!" Ed cried as he jumped up onto Mustang's bunk next to Toby, who was bouncing again. Ed began to jump up and down with her laughing happily. Ed never thought that their would be so much sure pure joy at the words 'We're free' but he was wrong.

"REAL FOOD!" Mustang cried happily.

"A HOT SHOWER!!" Armstrong said happily.

"MEN WHO AREN'T IN MILITARY UNIFORMS AND DON'T SMELL LIKE GUNPOWDER!! AND AREN'T YOU THREE!!" she cried.

"WOMEN WHO AREN'T YOU!!" Mustang yelled happily at Toby.

"A BED THAT'S BIG ENOUGH FOR ME!!" Armstrong declared happily.

"AL!!" Ed yelled happily.

"HAWKEYE! SHE'LL MAKE IT SO I WON'T HAVE TO DO A DAMN THING BUT SIT AT MY DESK!!" Mustang cried happily.

"MOTHER AND FATHER ARMSTRONG!!" Armstrong bellowed. Toby stopped bouncing and looked thoughtful. Ed stopped bouncing and looked at her.

"What's the matter?" he asked. She looked at him and grinned well shaking her head. That was when he realized that she never talked about anyone. She had no one to go home to. Ed looked at Mustang and Armstrong who seemed to have realized the same thing. They looked at Toby who looked kind of sad.

"What's the matter? When we get back you've got plenty of people to meet," Mustang said. Toby looked surprised at his comment.

"Who?" she asked.

"Hawkeye, Havoc…" Mustang began.

"Alicia, Mrs. Hughes, Al.." Ed said.

"Mother and Father," Armstrong finished.

"Really? In that case ALL THOSE PEOPLE!!" she shouted happily as she stared bouncing again. The four of them shouted happily and ran around the tent until they couldn't stand any longer and collapsed on one of the bunks laughing happily.

"Real food," Mustang said happily before drifting off to sleep.

"A bed that isn't a bunk," Armstrong muttered as he joined Mustang in the realm of sleep. Ed and Toby had collapsed next to each other on Mustang's bunk. Ed lay gazing dreamily at the roof of the tent for a while until worry settled over him.

"Toby?" he said hesitantly hoping that she was still awake.

"Ya," she said dreamily.

"What's it like when you go back?" he asked.

"Depends on the day Ed," she told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked hesitantly.

"Some day it's fine. Almost like it was before. But others it's like everyone who looks at you is condemning you. Almost as if they know what you did. The nights are the same though; sometimes you scream and sometimes you don't. But if you're expecting everything to be normal you're going to be greatly disappointed," she told him.

"Oh, does it get easier over time?" he asked.

"Did it get easier over time here?' she asked.

"Yes," he admitted. He didn't like it, but he'd grown use to killing people. Like every time he went into battle his heart sealed and didn't allow him to feel anything. Toby had been right it wasn't that he didn't care about the people here anymore it was that he couldn't.

"It's the same back in the civilized world. It gets easier but it never goes away," she told him. He nodded and moved his auto-mail; it ground and popped in a way that made him uneasy. He was going to have to get it serviced soon.

"You too huh?" Toby asked from beside him, "I've got to get mine fixed too. I think that when we get back we can get the Fuhrer to give us leave," she said.

"If we get leave would you like to go with me and Al. We'd be going to the same place. That way you don't get lonely," he asked after a minute.

"Ya, I'd like that. If nothing else Winry will attack you not me," she said. He could hear her smirking.

"Great so in other words I'm a human shield for you," he said.

"Yes but a greatly appreciated human shield," she told him. Ed grinned and the two of them fell silent. They both drifted off to sleep thinking about real food.