Sorry, I have a terrible sinus infection, and I'm either contracting lactose intolerance, or Celiac's Disease. Therefore, my next update will take me a little while.

I have a feeling you're all about to hate me…sorry.

Interlude

January 24th, 1917.

Al was squished uncomfortably in the back seat with the other men. Ed's eyes were beaming with feigned pride, and Al knew immediately something was not right. "What about you?" Al realized Ed was not planning on getting into the vehicle with them.

"I'll take the horses and distract them." The dust cloud from the oncoming Cretan soldiers grew in volume, and Al stared at his older brother with terror; he was sacrificing himself. He'd never be able to outrun military cars on horseback, and he knew it. Then Al remembered saying goodbye to Mei. Right before he left, Winry revealed why she had been feeling off. She wanted to surprise Ed when they came back from this mission.

"Brother! What about Winry? She's pregnant!" The car engine roared to life, and his dear older brother stared at him with shock. Al could practically see Ed's gears grinding in his head. Within a few seconds, Ed made his decision, and he almost looked somber.

"Tell her to wait for me. I always come back, Al. Bye." Ed waved his hand and the car sped off.

"Brother, no!" Al doubted his brother could hear him, but he had to try. He could make out Ed getting on a horse and galloping away. The men in the trunk held Al's arms in order to stop him from attempting to jump out. "Brother." He murmured and the dust cloud grew smaller while changing directions. Al was both mortified and a little happy his brother hadn't failed.

Glumly, everyone in the car remained silent on their strenuous journey back to the camp. The men that Al was shoved against would occasionally put a hand on his shoulder; a gesture that was supposed to mean everything would be okay. Well, everything was not okay. Ed was in unfamiliar territory being chased by malicious Cretans. Ed knew there were rumors about the fate of captured alchemists, but he didn't know the specifics of the rumors. Al did. If his brother was captured, the likelihood of seeing him anytime soon was slim. "You dummy." Al said quietly as the truck pulled into camp.

Mei was impatiently waiting next to the main tent for Al to return. Her cheerful smile helped Al feel a little bit better, but not by much. "Alphonse!" She rushed next to Al and squeezed him in a tight embrace. She looked at him while he meagerly wrapped his arms around her. "Is everything okay? Where's your runty brother?" Her smile disappeared when Al made no indication to lighten up.

"He's gone." Al let the words settle in. He had been ripped away from his brother after only seeing him for a few short hours. "He's probably captured by now." The words were foul to his ears; he wanted to tell himself he was lying. Mei hugged him tightly, and she brushed away a tear from his eye.

"Well, at least he's alive."

"Maybe that's not a good thing." Al gulped. If the horrible rumors were true, death would be much kinder. "I have to go get him." He wasn't going to let his brother go into the messed up forced labor system Creta set up after annexing Amestris.

"Alphonse, please don't. You'll get captured, too." Al's heart melted when he looked into Mei's pleading wide eyes.

"Okay, I won't go, but I'm not giving up."

"Of course not. You know, we should probably tell Winry." Al drooped his eyes.

"Right." He was not looking forward to giving Winry what could possibly be the worst news in her life. "Let's go."

Winry was sitting comfortably on a large pillow in Ling's large tent. She was relaxing after eating a wonderful and filling meal. She couldn't wait to tell Edward the fantastic news; they were going to be parents! His reaction would most likely be priceless, and she couldn't wait to see what silly things he would say and do.

The tent flap opened and two people came in. It was Mei and Al holding hands, and they sat down in front of Winry. She looked at the opening, expecting her fiancé to come bursting in at any moment. "Where's Ed?" She asked anxiously.

"He's gone." Al hoarsely said.

"When is he coming back?" As soon as she said it, Winry immediately felt regretful. Al's eyes were puffy and red. Something was terribly wrong.

"I don't know." Al rested his head against Mei's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I-I told him about…" He couldn't finish, but Winry understood what was going on. She didn't know what to say, or how she should feel. All she could do now was hope Ed would be safe and return soon.

January 26th, 1917

"Hey, there's somebody coming!" Al rushed over to the man who was holding a pair of binoculars. "Two people. A large man and a Xingese looking woman." He handed the binoculars over to Al. The couple was easy to identify, and Al smiled for the first time in days.

"They're friends, let them come." Al eagerly waited, and the couple eventually made it into camp.

"Alphonse, is that you?" Al walked over to Izumi and Sig, then he nodded his head. Of course, Sig hadn't seen him after being freed from the suit of armor.

"Where's that idiot brother of yours?" Izumi asked in a friendly way. Really, was everyone he met going to ask him that same question? He was going to go insane if he kept on having to be reminded about it.

"Brother isn't with us. We sent out a search team, but all we found was a dead horse." His teacher looked at him with brief confusion, then sympathy. She and Sig pulled him into an overpowering hug, which he gladly accepted. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for your brother's actions." Al was glad to be reunited with his teacher in a non-violent way, and his spirits raised slightly. Edward would want him to move on.

Later that day…

"We've got more coming! Looks like a group of five people, and they're wearing Amestrian uniforms." Alphonse once again grabbed the binoculars. He separated from Teacher a few hours ago so she could talk to Winry about…women things.

Al looked into the binoculars and he was delighted to see the group of people were Mustang's team. Something was missing, though. Mustang was not with them. After they were processed and given Xingese citizenship papers, Al went over to greet them.

They all gave Al various greetings, which he cheerfully accepted and returned. "I'm so happy to see all of you! It's been far too long." These wonderful soldiers were practically his second family, and their arrival made Al less gloomy.

"So, did anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Havoc slyly put an arm around Al's shoulder, and he indicated to the woven bracelet on his wrist. It had been a present from Mei, and Al responded by heavily blushing.

"Actually, yes. Brother and Winry are having a baby." He decided to get the attention off of himself.

"You mean…a baby?" Al raised an eyebrow. He didn't understand why Havoc had said that, and the others didn't seem to believe the newly acquired knowledge.

"Of course I mean a baby. Winry's about a month in. Brother is going to be a dad!" There was a collective 'aw' and the previously tense atmosphere calmed.

"Where's the lucky guy?" Havoc asked in a crafty tone, and Al frowned. Riza grabbed Havoc by the ear, and she dragged him away.

"We're going to see Winry." She stated, which left Al confused. He watched them disappear into the tent Winry was in.

"Did something happen to Edward?" Fuery asked quietly.

"We think he is in Amestris."

"That's where Mustang is, too. Hawkeye hasn't been taking it very well." They looked at each other with silence. It almost felt like they were mourning Ed and Roy, even though they were most likely alive. Although, right now, their lives probably weren't going very well.

"Come on, I'll get you some food." Al broke the silence. At least there had been a few positive outcomes to this dire situation; he had been reunited with his second family, and he was going to be an uncle.

July 17th, 1917

Three months ago, Ling received a call from Brigg's. Olivier Armstrong had refused to leave her fort, but she desperately wanted to save her country. So, construction of a large underground tunnel began. It was going to connect Brigg's to the desert, so soldiers could avoid the enormous wall the Cretans (captured Amestrians, Al reminded himself) built. Construction of the tunnel was going splendidly, but not fast.

Al heard rumors about the monstrosity of the wall, and how it was built. Amestrians were forced to build it all day and night without being provided food and water. The wall workers died off quickly. There was a good possibility Edward was sent to the wall, but no one would ever be sure. It was unbelievable that Ed could die easily from starvation or dehydration, so Al knew his brother had to be okay. Winry held the same sentiment. Ed was too stubborn to die from something so simple.

Winry was seven months pregnant, and she was doing well. She had the strangest cravings and mood swings. Al could've sworn he saw a jealous look in her eyes whenever he was holding hands with Mei. He knew what the source of the jealousy was; she didn't have Edward to hold hands with. It was a simple reason, but it made Al feel terrible. After his visits with Winry, he would make sure to show Mei as much affection as possible. He was thankful he had someone to lean on and speak his feelings to.

Riza, Mei, and Izumi were with Winry for most of the day, everyday. They fed her with encouraging words, and they made sure she was healthy. She tried her best to look strong, but Al knew she was in torment for not having Edward by her side.

August 2nd, 1917

"Hi, Alphonse." Riza said softly. Al smiled and he looked back out the window. They had moved into Ling's palace a few days ago so Winry could give birth in a safe place.

"Hello, Ms. Riza. What brings you here?"

"You seem down." It certainly wasn't an understatement. No one was truly happy anymore.

"I suppose. How's Winry?"

"She's perfectly fine, as usual." Riza frowned when she saw Al was still dreamily gazing out the window, with no emotion on his face. "Follow me, I think I know how to cheer you up." They walked across the courtyard, and she led Al to a small building, which had occasional bird calls emanating from it.

"A falconry?" He cocked his head slightly.

"I know they're not cats, but I think you'll enjoy them." She opened the door, and Al's eyes seemed to spark back to life. He gleefully petted the tame birds on their perches.

"This one reminds me of Brother." Al indicated a large golden eagle with piercing yellow eyes.

"I don't know, it kind of looks angry to me." The eagle indignantly screeched.

"I know." Al grinned, and Riza was glad he was joking about his brother. At least he could be happy now, even if someone mentioned Ed. "Hey, look over here!" Al hastily walked to a large tub filled with peeping young hawks. He scooped one up and placed it in Riza's hands. "They're cute." He supplemented and he tenderly grabbed a second one. The little birds were docile and they didn't fidget around too much.

Riza glanced at her bird with admiration. It was small, fluffy, and black. "Yeah, they are fascinating birds." She looked into the hawk's stunningly intelligent black eyes. "They're fierce hunters, very noble, and they mate for life." The young hawk chirped, and Riza smiled warmly. She wasn't necessarily talking about hawks…

September 22nd, 1917

A group of 129 Amestrians were escorted into Xing by Cretan and Aerugo soldiers. Apparently, they had been in a large rebellion, and special circumstances had taken place to free the revolters. Everyone was hoping Ed or Roy would be in the group, but the chances were slim.

Ling came back from his trip to the camp, and he didn't look like he was about to give any good news. "I'm sorry, Edward and Roy were not there." Al looked at his feet and Ling handed him something. "This is what the prisoners were wearing." He lazily inspected the metal bracelet.

"It's mostly Iodine and Copper, that's strange. Copper is found in the south, and I think there's even several Copper mines in Aerugo-" Al stopped his train of thought, and he bubbled with anger. He looked at Ling with wide eyes. "Aerugo. They were planning this the whole time."

September 26th, 1917

Al was reading in the library, trying to perfect his Xingese. "Alphonse!" He shot his head up and looked at a very frantic Mei. "She's in labor!" Al jumped up and he rushed down the halls with Mei. Once they arrived at the room, Al stayed outside with Ling, Sig, Falman, Breda, Fuery, and Havoc. They uneasily waited for what felt like hours, and the screams from the room made all of the men shudder.

"You can come in now." Mei motioned for them to enter the room. She, Izumi, and Riza had already changed into different clothes, and they cleaned the bedding so the blood didn't cause the men to have the urge to vomit. Everyone carefully surrounded Winry, who was now sleeping as a result of exhaustion. In her arms was a small bundle of blankets, which housed the peaceful face of a baby. Al apprehensively looked at the three women in charge of the delivery.

Izumi placed a hand on Al's shoulder. "Congratulations, you're an uncle." Al knew the saying was supposed to be, 'you're a father.' Unfortunately, the father was not here, so Al was determined to be the best uncle ever until Ed returned. If he returned.

Later that day…

"You can hold him, if you'd like." Everyone had their turn holding the infant, and Al held him for a second time. The baby's eyes were closed, and he had no hair. It was too early to see which parent's traits would take over. His nephew was beyond adorable, and Al was starting to have some unusual thoughts.

"Mei?" He asked so only she could hear. "Do you like babies?"

"Of course I do."

"Um, I was wondering if, you know, we could, uh…"

"Alphonse?" She was staring at him with shock. "What are you trying to say?"

"I know it doesn't seem like the right time, but I was wondering if down the road if you would consider…" Al gulped and took a deep breath. "…marrying me." He felt so relieved to let that out, and he braced himself for possible rejection. Mei seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"You silly boy. Why didn't you just say so?" Al nervously laughed and his face started to cool down. He knew his face had to of been cherry red. "I love you." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Me too."

Even later that day…

"I got a letter!" Ling declared and he waved a piece of paper in the air. Everyone was on edge, waiting to see who the letter came from. "It's from Edward!" Al's heart skipped a beat, and he could see Riza lowering her head from the corner of his eye. Al read the letter twice, and his heart was fluttering even more.

"Mr. Mustang is with Ed!" He announced and he watched as the room seemed to light up immensely. He let everybody read the letter, and it was hard to contain his happiness. "What should we do?"

"There's really nothing we can do but wait." Winry stated from the bed, and she was holding her child with care.

"She's right. If you want, we can send a letter to Roy's apartment." Riza was beaming, obviously glad her superior was alive and well.

"It won't make it there in time."

"Sure it will." She winked, and she began to write her letter to Roy. Al grabbed a piece of paper and he wrote about how excited he was to hear from his brother.

"Do you think it will get there in time?" Al apprehensively tied the various letters to his favorite bird in the falconry.

"Of course it will. I bet she'll even make a mess in Roy's apartment while she waits for them to arrive."

"Good." They released the eagle and hoped for the best.

September 27th, 1917

The return letter came early that morning. It was a short response, and everyone could detect the jitteriness and excitement in Ed's frantic words. Al, Riza, and Izumi decided to go to the camp so they could greet Roy and Ed when they returned. Hours passed, and night gradually turned into day. The morning turned back into night.

Izumi gently put her hands on Riza and Al's shoulders. "They're not coming." Al looked at his teacher, then to Riza. He was sad to discover she had a steady flow of tears running down her cheek. "I'm sorry." Was it really too hard to ask for happiness?

End of Interlude.

Sorry I did that to you...

Thanks for reading!

Warning for the next few chapters: Psychology is fun.