Hello! I know I must sound like a broken record, but I apologize for my lack of updating. The Charlie Brown play went wonderfully though! Being Snoopy is a ton of fun and seeing the little kids' faces light up for you gives you the greatest feeling.

Unfortunately though, I'm not in the best of moods. I'm going through a breakup so I apologize if my work is not as good as it usually is. I'm attempting on getting my will to write back so please no flames. ((not that I haven't received any yet though and I thank fanfictioners for that))

Disclaimer: I don't own anything cept Kate-chan

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Home

The countryside flies past the window as the train swerves a little to the left. We pass over a river and back onto the vast plains that make up Resembool. It's a beautiful landscape, filled with the greenest grass and mountains in the far east. The skies here are always so blue sometimes speckled with lacey clouds. I remember running through the fields with a big lily in my hair, Mom trying to catch me. I would laugh as little children do and then fall upon a hill, giggling hysterically as Mom pulled me into tickling fight. Those sweet summer days…

I'm almost back home.

Outside of Resembool is a sleepy section of land with no name. A few more houses dot this area, one of them being my old home where I had lived out the bittersweet days of my childhood. A small house on a small hill with flowerbeds surrounding it… That was the setting of my childhood. Mom loved gardening. She'd take me out and teach me the ways of gardening, like how to properly plant them, water them, what to do during a storm, and so on. After she finished explaining and showing me how, she'd put on the beautiful smile of hers and say, "Alright, now you try."

Mom…

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The crescent moon kept climbing higher and higher in the sky, until finally hid behind the clouds. The man, Greg Smithins, was weary by his travels on the road. It was dark now and anything could jump out of the night and nab him. His bag seemed to grow heavier with each step. He was truly at the peak of exhaustion. But where could he go?

A lazy little town appeared on the horizon. Ah, yes, they lived here. The old couple lived near the busier part of town while her house was on a hill a little farther ways off. But Greg Smithins did not have the energy to walk that much farther. He stumbled into town and tiredly searched around for the house he was looking for. Finally he found it, wedged in between a pastry shop and larger house. He gave the door a couple knocks and waited.

The old wooden door creaked slightly open, revealing an old woman with long graying hair tied back into a ponytail. She inspected him through her large glasses with a frown on her face.

"You!" she said acidly. "You are not welcome here."

Greg Smithins sighed. "Please, may I come in a for bit?"

"No, we kicked you out of our family years ago," the old woman said.

"Mother, please," Greg Smithins said. "Let me explain. I've been out on the road for weeks now and "

"More like years!" his mother snapped. "We've had enough of your 'explanations', Greg. Now LEAVE!"

With that, the door slammed in his face. He heard her bolt it shut on the other side. Greg Smithins sighed. He wandered about until he found an alleyway and then passed out there.

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"Kate?"

When I opened my eyes, I had to blink a couple times before I was fully awake. Ed and Al were standing up in our booth as a couple people passed behind them. The train had finally come to a stop.

"Oh, good, you're awake now," Al said. "We're getting off now."

"Yeah," Ed said, looking at me suspiciously.

I stood up, feelings slightly dizzy, but it passed and I followed them off of the train. It was a small station, just as I remembered it, sitting by the creek nestled between the many hills of Resembool. No houses were near it, which meant we were in for bit of a walk.

"You know," Al began, "you were so quiet the whole ride that we didn't even know that you had fallen asleep… Well, not until you started sweating."

"Sweating?" I put a hand underneath my bangs. There was still a little sweat there. "Oh… Um, well… you know."

No one said anything for a while.

"Wow, it's been a while huh, Nii-san?" Al said, but I was already tuning them out.

These dreams that I was having are becoming too much trouble. They come at random, whether I'm fully awake or falling asleep. They're becoming more frequent too. This is bad, I thought, they're becoming a hindrance to Al and Edward. This isn't good at all…

I stopped.

"What is it, Kate-san?" Al said, noticing that I had fallen behind them.

But my eyes were cast in the opposite direction. My childhood memories were in that direction.

"Kate?" Ed had suddenly come up next to me.

"Edward?" I said, still looking towards the direction of my old home. "On the way out of Resembool… may we stop there?"

"Where?" Ed asked confused.

"My old home," I replied quietly. "It's in that direction." I pointed.

Ed smiled a little. "Sure. But let's get to Winry's first."

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Ed was lying on the floor with many bumps on his head, practically unconscious.

"WHAT?!" yelled a girl in a big white t-shirt that was knotted in the back and pink sweatpants. Her log blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was brandishing a wrench. "NO POSTCARD? NO LETTER? NO PHONE CALLS? NO TELLAGRAM? NOTHING?!"

Ed staggered upward but she hit him back to the ground. She was about to swing at him again but I quickly jumped in her way.

"E-excuse me," I said, slightly frightened. "Are… Are you Winry-san?"

Winry lowered her hand. "Yes… And who are you?"

"This is Kate-san," Al interjected, glad that the bruising of Edward had stopped. "We picked her up on the side of a road one day. She was mugged by some bandits."

"Aw, you poor thing," Winry said sympathetically and pulled me into a hug. Boy, her moods sure change fast.

"Um, thank you?" I said hesitantly as she let me go.

She then turned back on Ed, who by this time had managed to stand up again. She pointed her wrench at him, saying, "AND YOU! You better not slack off anymore!"

"Slack off?!" Ed said hotly. "I've been working my ass off! What have you been doing?"

"Just the same!" Winry said just as hotly back. "But how in the world am I supposed to know where you are?! You could be anywhere! You could at least call or something!"

"And not calling makes me a slacker?!"

"Why, yes, it DOES!"

"They may seem like this, but really they've been good friends since childhood," Al whispered to me.

"Really?" I whispered back. Hard to believe…

"Ahaha, I know. It looks like they're an old married couple, huh?"

For some reason, I blushed a little at that. I don't know why but I suddenly got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"So what seems to be the problem?" Winry asked.

"Nothing," Ed retorted. "Just thought I'd get a check up, that's all."

"Oh, so you'll come for a check up and not even call first?"

"Where's Aunty Pinako?" Al interrupted.

"She's visiting some old friends on the west side of town," Winry replied, mood cleared already.

The west side… I glanced out the window.

"Is something wrong, Kate-chan?" Winry asked suddenly.

"Oh, nothing," I said quickly.

"Now as for you," Winry said, directing her snootiness back at Ed. "Since you're such a slacker  "

"I AM NOT!"

"  I'll just have to do your check up in the morning." She glared at him for a bit and then turned back to me. "It is getting late though. How bout you guys stay here, huh? Al, you know what room you two share, so I'll show Kate-chan around, ok?" Winry grabbed my hand and lead me upstairs. She opened one of the doors, revealing a messy room. Tools and other handyman stuff lay strewn around the room. "Sorry, for the mess, but this is my room. You can stay in here with me for the night, ok?"

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"I'll clean and pull out the futon later," she said and then she sighed. "I can't believe they're here… They never visit."

"Not since the fire?" I said, without thinking.

Winry didn't say anything for a bit. "What? Did they tell you?"

"Something like that," I said, already feeling ashamed.

"Hm, that's something," Winry said. "They never tell anyone anything. Specially not me."

"You'd be surprised," I said. "I think you're the one they tell the most to."

Winry looked at me with an indescribable expression on her face. "Thank you," she finally said, smiling a little. "Seems I have some competition, huh?"

I smiled back. "Perhaps."

"Well, shall we go see what those troublesome boys are up to?" she asked, leading me out of the room.

"Ok," I said, still smiling, following her back to the bottom floor of the house that's so close to my memories…

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Author's note: ah…I hope that went well. anyway I thank those of you who read this and I'm honestly trying harder… just for the heck of it I'll see if I can do another today.

briellesabop