Just to inform everyone about exactly where this fic takes place, since it can be confusing—this is set in America, or an America-ish place. The Gravitation Record label, one of the biggest out there in this little universe, tends to "recruit" bands or singers from foreign countries (Japan, Spain, Austrailia, Britain, Germany etc.) to boost their popularity, and their buyers.

Chapter Seven

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Tuesday September the eighth arrived with the whispers of homework on the rise.

Indeed, a few minor papers had been handed out from each of the teachers, making everyone complain no matter how easy they were. Ed and Al were one of the few who finished their homework as soon as class ended, much to their teachers' satisfaction. Envy and the rest (besides Sheska, who had happily joined their gang) put off the homework for later, as usual.

It was just another afternoon.

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"Ms. Trisha, we're here!" Envy called happily, knocking on the door to the Elric home.

Trisha opened the door and welcomed her sons and Envy and Wrath inside with a warm smile. The boys filed in, politely brushing their shoes off on the welcome mat. Trisha asked them kindly how their day was, and handed them cookies on plates while they asked about hers. Just as she began to say that her day was much less interesting, something happened that would soon change everything.

Trisha bent over double and began to hack badly, her face a mask of pain.

"Mom! Are you—" Ed and Al raced to her side and thumped her on the back.

Envy and Wrath hurried to get some cough medicine, their hearts pounding wildly against their chests and minutes later Envy returned with Wrath on his heels, carrying not only cough drops and medicine but the portable phone.

"Let's call her doctor, she looks really bad." Envy ordered, chucking the phone to Al.

"No, Envy, I'm fine—really—" Trisha's objections were drowned out by a fit of coughing so horrible it sounded as though bile would soon be heading northward at any time.

"Hang on, Mom." Ed said determinedly, quickly dialing Clara Psiren's Number.

"How may I help you?" Dr. Psiren said cheerily.

"Hi, Doctor Psiren. Ed Elric. Urgent—Mom's really sick!" Ed nearly screamed into the phone, despite his determination to stay calm.

Dr. Psiren was all business immediately. "Bring her over. We'll take a look at her."

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"Breathe in."

Trisha coughed weakly.

"That's not good. Breathe out—there we go."

Ed, Al, Envy and Wrath sat stoically in the waiting room at the hospital, listening worriedly at the constant coughing sound that eminated from the small office.

Al voiced everyone's thoughts quietly. "I hope she's okay…"

Envy clapped Al on the shoulder. "Your Mom's amazing—she'll be fine, just watch!"

Ed gave a forced grin. "Yeah, Al. Mom's the strongest person we know, remember?"

Al smiled back. "Yeah…I guess you're right, Brother…"

Wrath snored loudly, his face covered by a Sports Illustrated magazine. The clock ticked slowly, as though milking the tension. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into an hour. Suddenly, Dr. Psiren exited the office she had been using with Trisha. The boys leapt up and pelted her with questions.

"How is she?"

"Is Mom alright?"

"Was it just a fever, or something?"

"Can she come home?"

Dr. Psiren readjusted her stethescope with a look of patience. "You might be expecting too much of Ms. Elric."

Ed sneered. "Dad died when I was three, leaving Mom a widow with two kids. Trust me, there's nothing she can't do."

Dr. Psiren smiled sadly. "Perhaps she should stay at the hospital for awhile. She has a Pneumonia."

"What?! How?" Ed and Al cried out in shock.

"We're not quite sure. It must have been from visiting your father's grave every night, in the bitter cold. Or at least that's my guess from what she told me."

Silence drifted like a dense fog around the boys.

Dr. Psiren smiled. "The hospital's quite close by, so you could visit her every day if you wanted, right?"

Ed and Al nodded reluctantly, while Envy muttered "But it's not the same…"

"Well, maybe she'll get better quickly and come home in a month or so?" Wrath asked encouragingly.

Dr. Psiren added with a reassuring look "We'll take good care of her."

Ed looked at Al, and with twin looks of determination they nodded together.

"Fine. But you have to take good care of her."

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Al busily cooked some leftovers in the microwave back at the house, watching Ed flip through the channels with no particular interest.

Anime, sitcoms, documentaries, movies—they all flickered past in the blink of an eye. The Gravitation label had just obtained a new foreign band—The Boy Who Lived and The Wizards. They were quite good, vocally and instrumentally, but girls were mainly cooing over the lead singer, Clive Walter—he was probably going to be the next Elvis. Al chuckled to himself as Ed got up and began to dance in front of the TV, humming along to the song that was being played by The Boy Who Lived:

Do you believe in magic in a boy's soul?

Believe in the wands and the spells…

Ed spun around and moved his hips to the drum beat, then stepped forward than back in a pattern, jumping and twisting in the air. This continued for the next two minutes of the song, with Al watching without Ed's notice.

"…Believe that some day, you're gonna flyyyyyyy…" Ed warbled the last verse in as high a voice that he could manage, flopping onto the leather couch exhausted.

Al laughed and clapped loudly and enthusiastically, much to Ed's surprise and embarrassment.

"…I…I thought you were upstairs—" he stammered.

Al laughed again. "I like watching you dance, you're so enthusiastic about it. You're much better than me at it."

Ed shrugged. "You want to see if there's anything else on?"

Al nodded and folded his arms behind his head. "I wonder if The Cat Returns is on…"

Ed rolled his eyes. "You have it on DVD. Just watch it in your room. I don't get why you like that show, anyway—it's girly."

Al sighed. "Brother, I know you watch Ranma ½, and that is just as good as The Cat Returns."

Ed chuckled—he could never have an argument with his brother for long. "I know you have a crush on the main character anyway—what's her name?"

Al blushed. "Ah—I do not! That was years ago, Ed!"

"Was noooot…" Ed sang, ruffling Al's hair playfully.

"Was too!" Al argued, giving Ed a noogie.

The usual argument ensued, with Al winning in the end and grabbing his beloved film from the movie bin by the TV. The two brothers sat happily together, trying to take their minds off Trisha.

It would be a restless night for many.

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Just to inform you all, I'm going to be on vacation for a week or so, so I won't be updating this fic for a little while! I decided to give you this chapter now so that you can be occupied while I'm gone.