Got Part 2 done by the end of winter break! Mission accomplished!

Hope you enjoy!

"We're home!" Trisha's voice called out as Ed heard the front door open and shut. He turned his head just in time to see his daughter come bounding into the living room. Giggling, she threw her bag down and lept onto the couch with him, hugging him tightly, which he gladly returned.

"Hey, ankle biter!" he smiled affectionately, patting her head. "School go okay?"

"Yep!" she confirmed, giving a large nod.

Hearing more small footsteps in the doorway, he turned back to greet Aaron. "Hey, buddy…Hm?"

The kids' father was surprised to see a little girl he'd never seen before standing beside his son. She was about a couple inches taller than Aaron, with extremely curly deep brown hair and vibrant blue eyes. In addition to her small leather backpack, she wore a simple yellow plaid dress with black shoes.

"Who's this?" Edward asked as the children grew closer.

Before Aaron even had a chance to open his mouth, the little girl walked up, extending her hand in greeting and flashing a cute, big-cheeked smile. "My name's Lydia Bowen! It's nice to meet you, Mr. Elric!"

The former alchemist looked at the girl in surprise for a second, but quickly smiled back, gently shaking her hand. "The pleasure's all mine." He then looked at his son. "She a friend of yours?"

Aaron had spent the past minute or so looking at the scene in about the same amount of confusion his father had initially had, almost like he wasn't exactly sure how they'd gotten into this situation. Realizing he was being addressed, he looked down at the floor in slight embarrassment, muttering, "She's a new girl in my class."

"Mommy, Daddy, and me used to live in Central," Lydia informed him jovially, "but we live here now so I won't breathe weird anymore. I've never seen a real country house before, cause we always lived in an apart-a-ment, so I asked Aaron if I could come and play and see his house and I knew he'd let me cause he's really nice."

"That so?" Ed smirked. He was sure Lydia's heart was in the right place, but from the looks of things it almost seemed like she'd invited herself and Aaron didn't have the guts to turn her down.

"I didn't tell her she could…" Aaron added on under his breath, confirming his dad's hypothesis.

"Well, either way, you're welcome here at the Elric house," Ed assured her. "Besides, you probably would've come here anyway. Aaron's mom loves to have new people over for dinner."

"Thank you so much for having us over," Lydia's father, John, thanked them as he finished up his plate. The six adults were sitting around the dinner table, having just finished eating, while the kids had left a while ago to go play in the yard.

"It was our pleasure," Winry assured him, smiling kindly. "We don't normally get many new people this far out in the country, so we always try to make families like you feel as welcome as possible."

"I've got to say it's quite a relief," Clara, Lydia's mother, chuckled. "We were so scared that we'd end up being outcasts in such a tight-knit community like this, but I've honestly never had such amiable neighbors in my life."

"That's Risembool for ya," Al smiled proudly.

"I completely understand where you're coming from," Mei told them, sympathy in her eyes. "When I first moved over here from Xing, I was so afraid that I wouldn't fit in at all, but everyone welcomed me with open arms. Then again," she smiled sweetly, yet slyly at her husband, "I guess marrying Al earned me some points."

Al blushed somewhat and, not knowing how to respond, said, "I wouldn't say that…"

John smiled at their words of encouragement. "Well, even if we knew we weren't going to be accepted here, we still would've come. There's no way we could've stayed in the city."

Ed furrowed his eyebrows, suddenly remembering something from his earlier conversation with their daughter. "Lydia said you came out here so she wouldn't breathe weird."

Clara's eyes saddened, though a small smile still remained on her face. "About a year ago, we got a letter from some of Lydia's teachers saying that she wasn't doing as well in physical activities as she used to, at least compared to the other kids. It was also around that time that she started taking more naps that normal, and she could never keep up with any of her cousins whenever they'd come to play." Her smile disappeared. "About two months after that…she started coughing. They were little at first, but then she started having these huge fits where she couldn't stop coughing for minutes on end. Then she started coughing up blood…"

The woman's voice cracked at this final sentence. Ed glanced over at Al for a second, only to find his little brother glancing at him too, and he knew they were both thinking of one Izumi Curtis.

John put his hand on his wife shoulder, solemn, and continued, "We took her to multiple doctors, and they all examined her thoroughly, concluding it had something to do with her lungs. We had one medication, which stopped the coughing, but then she started wheezing, then there was another one that stopped the coughing and gave her more energy, but she'd have an attack if she got too excited or pushed herself too hard."

"How awful…" Winry commented, her eyes sad as well. "Do the doctors at least know what it is?"

John shook his head. "They took some x-rays, but they say the structures of her lungs are perfectly normal, and all the medicines they gave her usually help people with similar symptoms. The best they can figure is that it's some new kind of respiratory illness, one that they don't know can be treated yet. They said that the best thing to do right now was to get her some fresh air away from all the fumes of the city. That's why we came here."

"I just hope it makes her feel better…" Clara murmured, tears now forming in her eyes. "So many times I've had to clean up blood off her face and…have her come up to me and say, 'My chest hurts, Mommy. It hurts.' And I couldn't do anything about it…" She let out a small sob, cupping her face in her hands, "She's my baby girl and I can't even take the hurt away…"

The four Elrics looked down at the table, all of them suddenly aware of the children's giggles and cheers coming from outside. Their children….the meer thought of any of them becoming sick and being helpless to stop it made Edward nauseous. He couldn't even imagine lively little Trisha being weak with coughing while he was unable to do anything for her. He could only imagine how John felt with his little girl being in that very situation.

Ed glanced at the end of the table. "Al, Mei…"

But his brother and sister-in-law already knew what he was thinking and shamefully shook their heads. Mei sadly explained, "Alkahestry is used in the more physical area of medical science, like broken bones or torn tissue. Illnesses are a completely different story, especially if we don't know what they are. If her lungs are structurally sound like they say, then there's nothing we can do, and even if there's some dead tissue involved, we can't revive any of it."

The Bowens, who'd looked slightly hopeful, deflated a bit at this news. Still, John nodded in thanks. "It's alright. It was nice of you to even consider it. I guess…the only thing we can do now is wait and pray. I just hope that this is really what Lydia needs, so she can be a little kid again."

The other adults nodded, while Ed looked at them seriously. "The Elrics are with you. If you need anything, just let us know."

Edward and Winry stood outside of the Bowens' door for a few seconds in solemn silence. Eventually the two exchanged a glance, perhaps preparing each other for the scene they were about to step into, and Ed firmly knocked on the door. It took probably ten seconds or so before they heard somewhat shuffling footsteps and saw the door open in front of them. John was dressed in his regular daytime clothes, but that was the only thing that seemed upkept about him. His hair looked like he just rolled out of bed, and there were obvious bags under his eyes, which were filled with an almost hallow sadness and disbelief. When he saw the two Elrics, he looked surprised, but only for a second, afterwhich he gave the two an extremely small smile, which, to Ed, seemed like he was genuinely happy to see them. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Mornin', you two. Come on in."

After telling them not to even bother taking off their muddy shoes, which they did anyway, he led them into the dinning room, where Clara sat staring at the table, her hands folded in deep thought. Upon hearing then enter, she looked up. Her eyes were deep red and puffy from crying, and, at the sight of her friends, she looked as if she were about to tear up again. She stood to greet them, but Winry had already briskly walked over and pulled her into a tight hug, which the other woman gladly accepted, gripping at her friend's shirt in a sudden resurgence of anguish.

The two women stood quietly hugging for a while, but Ed, finding the pressing silence unbearable, turned to John and said, "Anais called and told us."

Mr. Bowen nodded in understanding, his expression unchanging. Perhaps he couldn't display anymore grief than he already had. "Dr. Matthews came by and looked over her. He said her lungs failed sometime in the middle of the night. She was asleep though, so she didn't feel anything. That makes me feel a little better…I guess."

"Yeah," was all Ed could think of to say. It brought him some comfort as well to know that Lydia's bright light didn't go out with any struggling or fear. She passed peacefully in her sleep, which was what any parent could really wish for for their critically ill child.

Not that it made the fact that she was gone any less painful.

"Anyway, the Doctor said he'd spread the word around town. Anais probably decided to take of the mantel. You're the first ones to come by though."

"Sorry. We just thought…"

"Don't be sorry. I'm not sure about Clara, but seeing you guys has already made me feel a little better, especially after what happened with Aaron…"

Edwards heart somehow sunk even lower at the reminder that his son had already heard the horrible news. He exchanged a glance with Winry, who now stood by Clara, her arm wrapped around her shoulders. Winry looked down at the floor for a second, then up at John, hesitantly asking, "How did he take it?"

The man let out a long heavy sigh, looking down at the floor as well. "As well as could be expected. He came knocking at our door about an hour ago. He just smiled, told us good morning, and…" His voice cracked a bit at the memory, "he asked if he and Lydia could go play at the schoolyard."

Clara squeaked a little bit, interrupting her husband. Winry squeezed her shoulders a bit tighter as she wiped her eyes. "I just…I just couldn't take it," she told them, her voice cracking heavily. "He looked at me with those big, innocent eyes of his and I…I just hugged him so tight and cried. I cried so much."

Ed could almost imagine the scene: his son staring at the woman in confusion as she sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder, not knowing yet what had become of his best friend. "What exactly did say to him?"

"We tried to tell him gently, obviously, but…he's a smart kid," John explained, almost looking ashamed. "We told him that…Lydia had left last night to go to heaven. That just made him confused and he asked us why, and we said because…God wanted her too."

A sob came from his throat, interrupting him, and he looked down for a second, his face contorted in grief. Ed put a comforting hand on his shoulder, though he was sure it wasn't much of a help. The former alchemist almost felt like crying himself, and his wife had tears streaming down her face already from the recount.

After a minute or so, John still looked to be overcome with grief. Edward squeezed his eyes shut for a second, trying to compose himself. The last thing the Bowens needed was their own guests breaking out into sobs. They were the only ones allowed to cry right now.

"It's alright," he assured the other man quietly, squeezing his shoulder a bit. "Let me talk to Aaron, then we'll get out of your hair if you want us to."

Clara, who'd begun crying again after seeing her husband break down, sniffled and looked at the Elric man, confused. "What do you mean?"

That comment seemed a little weird, but Ed was sure she simply hadn't heard him clearly. "Just let me talk to Aaron for a second. Is he in the backyard?"

Mrs. Bowen's eyebrows furrowed even more, not understanding something, then suddenly her eyes widened somewhat in realization, though worry now replaced her confusion. "Aaron…Aaron isn't here."

An anvil appeared in Edward's stomach. Winry quickly turned to him at her friend's words, and he could see the sudden worry in her eyes.

Seeing their confusion and sudden concern, John furrowed his eyebrows as well. "He was obviously really upset by the news. He got angry and said that we were lying, and when we promised we weren't, he just ran off. We…we though he'd just run back home but…"

"We haven't seen him all morning," Winry informed him, speaking quickly like she tended to do when she was exceedingly nervous. Edward felt his heart clench at the fear in her voice.

"It's okay, Winry." He walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, which he hoped she couldn't feel shaking a bit. "I know a few places he could have gone. I'll go and see if I can track him down."

"Don't think you're going without me," she somewhat snapped, her eyes suddenly fiery.

"Of course not. First, though, call the house and see if he came back while we were gone. If not, then come and catch up with me. Alright?"

He really hoped she agreed to that, because he didn't wait and see. After quickly throwing on his coat and boots, he was out the door. The last thing he wanted his already panicking wife to see was him on the verge of panic himself.

It's one long road. He reminded himself. Just one long road.

So, why did he have such a horrible feeling in his gut?

The first place he checked was the schoolyard. Aaron had wanted to play with Lydia there to begin with, plus he occasionally went there when he was exceedingly bored. Unfortunately, the field was all but empty. He knocked on a few neighbors' doors, ones whose kids were friends with his son, but they hadn't seen him either. As he walked down the road, Ed tried to keep his heart from racing. He hadn't seen anything out of Winry, which might have meant Aaron was, in fact, back home. Then again, the former alchemist realized that he stupidly hadn't really told his wife where he was going, so she had no way of catching up and he had no way of knowing where Aaron was.

He felt his right shoulder begin to ache. The sensation reminded him of how his automail joints used to feel before it began to rain. Nowadays, he only seemed to get this achy when he felt exceedingly uneasy.

The last place he could possibly think of was his parents' graves. Ed and Al took the kids to say hi to the grandparents every so often, and Aaron knew that Edward went there sometimes when he was a little upset about something. On a few occasions, Aaron would even come to sit with his dad just so he would have a bit of company. Maybe the boy would seek comfort in his grandma and grandpa in his time of heartbreak.

However, to the older Elric's dismay and somewhat horror, there was no little golden-haired boy to be found. His eyes scoured the cemetery for even a hint of movement, but found nothing.

Now he was starting to panic.

It's one long road. There's only one way he can go.

I know, but…stuff happens.

Stuff happens. Stuff happens…

Clenching his fists till they were white, Edward looked down at his mother and father's tombstones. His family had always been broken…always. Since he was little kid. First Hohenheim left them, and it was just him, Al, and Mom. Then Mom died, and it was just him and Al. For the longest time, the two brothers felt like they'd never have a whole family ever again. Then they finally realized they had Winry and Granny. Granny eventually passed away, but Ed married Winry, and they had two beautiful…God, two wonderful children that he'd never dreamed of having in a million years. If anything happened to his son…his son…who he was supposed to protect…

"AARON!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Please hear me. You better god-damned hear me.

Unfortunately, after waiting and listening for a few minutes, he heard no response. He looked at the tombstones again, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, though it didn't provide much help. Still, he had to clear his head so he could think straight. Aaron was so smart for his age, but he was still only seven. Not only that, but knowledge kind of gets thrown out the window whenever one's upset. Ed knew that better than anyone. Hell, it was happening right now.

He'd been searching easily for a half-hour now, and John said Aaron had shown up at their house about an hour before he and Winry had. That meant the seven-year-old had been missing for almost two hours now. He could have easily just been hiding, wanting to be alone, but there was that one small piece of Ed's mind insisting that it was something else. Was that really his gut feeling that had saved his life on multiple occasions or was it the raw, hysterical parental fear eating at him?

"Brother!" The sound of Al's voice broke Ed out of his thoughts. He turned just in time to see his younger brother running down the road towards him, somehow not slipping in the mud. The urgent look on his face didn't help Ed's nerves.

The two met at the cemetery gate. Probably getting a little too close to his brother's face, Ed immediately spurted out, "Is Aaron home?"

Alphonse stopped for a split second to breathe, panting a bit, but he shook his head. Seeing his older brother immediately deflate and somehow gain an even more worried expression, he quickly added, "I think I know where he is though. I ran into Mika on the way here, and he said Aaron ran past him about an hour ago." He paused for a second, either to catch the rest of his breathe or to recount the memory. "It looked like he was heading toward our old house."

This caught Edward's attention. While he was planning on eventually doing so, he'd never taken Aaron up on the hill to see the burnt remains of the former Elric family home. Taking him there would mean having to explain the whole story that came with it, and Ed wasn't about to tell his seven-year-old son about their failed human transmutation or the fact that his uncle used to be a hallow suit of armor or that there'd been a plan to sacrifice the entire Amestrian population so some bearded bastard could obtain God or some shit. No – that was a story for another day many years in the future. He tried to think about why Aaron would go there of all places, but he couldn't think of any logical reasons. "You sure?"

Al nodded. Ed thought for a moment before telling him, "Okay. I'll go up there and see if I can find him." Then he suddenly remembered something and, rubbing his neck in embarrassment, added, "Could you go and meet up with Winry? I sort of left her behind at the Bowens'."

"Oh, trust me, she cursed you out on the phone," Al mentioned, though he still looked serious and also worried about his nephew. "We'll keep looking down here just in case."

"Right."

And just like that, the two brothers bolted off in separate directions. It took Ed only about five minutes to reach the site of his childhood home. In all honesty, he couldn't remember the last time he'd visited it, which must have meant it had been awhile. Coming up on the crest of the hill, he noticed that, obviously, not much had changed. There were still remnants of the stone foundation of the house, as well as the charred remains of wooden beams and plaster strewn about the area. The tall tree that had stood there his whole life still towered above the land, though the swing that had once been tied to its branches had fallen to the ground, the rope straps having been weathered down. From what he could tell, there was also some more vegetation beginning to grow on the burnt remains, slowly but surely hiding them from the world.

Then there was the grave – the memorial for the poor soul the Elric brothers had accidentally transmuted that horrible night in an attempt to bring their mother back. The two had actually been both relieved and horrified to find out that what they'd created hadn't, in fact, been their mother, but they were equally remorseful for the other soul they had made suffer in the process. Only a simple, small stone marked the grave of the stranger, right in the middle of what used to be the basement, but it was clear to any passerby what it was. Maybe that was why, in mourning the loss of his best friend, a little boy now sat in front of the makeshift tombstone, his knees pulled up to his chest and his eyes lost in thought.

Upon seeing that familiar head of golden hair and that tiny figure, Ed almost felt as if he were weightless. Continuing to run toward the remains, he called out, "Aaron!"

The boy jumped and turned toward him, startled by his shouts. It took him a couple seconds, but he eventually recognized his father coming towards him. To Edward's surprise, Aaron was immediately on his feet and running to him as well, his face suddenly scrunched up with emotion. Ed dropped to his knees just before the met, and Aaron slammed into him, both of them hugging the other tightly. The man heard his son start to cry into his shoulder – the exact reason, he wasn't sure of yet, but it made his heart ache.

"Don't you ever do that again!" the former alchemist found himself scolding. His pent up worry, anxiety, and anger came out in his words, quickly being replaced with an immense relief. Aaron was alright. He wasn't hurt. He wasn't lost. He was right here in his father's arms, where he could protect him. Ed hadn't noticed until then, but his arms were shaking violently around his son. It occurred to him that, somehow, after all he'd been through, this had been one of the scariest situations of his life. "Mom and I have been looking everywhere for you!"

"I'm sorry…" Aaron cried, his arms still wrapped tightly around Ed's neck. "I'm really sorry, Daddy…"

Hearing the pain in his son's voice caused Ed to mentally slap himself. Now wasn't the time to be reprimanding the boy. Using a gentler tone, he asked, "Aaron, buddy, can you look at me real quick?" When his son still held tight, he gingerly pulled his arms away and held him so they could look at each other, "Hey…"

Aaron's eyes were basically bloodshot, but besides that, Edward could tell that he was downright exhausted from everything that had happened. His clothes were rather muddy from running and sitting on the ground, and his hair was mess from not being combed. Still, he wasn't hurt, which was all Ed was really concerned with. Well…at least physically…

Reaching out, he wiped a bit of mud off Aaron's face and gave him a small smile. Petting his hair down, he said, "That was kind of rotten of you to skip out on breakfast without telling us. You'll have to say sorry to Trisha for not eating her pancakes…"

"Dad…" Aaron interrupted quietly, looking down at the ground. "Lydia died."

Ed's hand froze on top of his son's head, and he felt his chest constrict with helplessness. His smile faded, and he also spoke with a quiet voice, "I know. Her mommy and daddy told me."

"But why?" The boy's voice began to crack, his face constricting like he was holding back tears. "She wasn't sick anymore, so why did God take her to heaven? Now that she's in heaven…she can't come back…."

"Aaron…" Ed felt his throat close up a bit. He'd always seeing Winry cry. Seeing their children cry was hundred times worse. "She got sick again when it started raining. God…" He swallowed hard. How was he supposed to explain something he had trouble believing in himself? "God took her to heaven so she wouldn't be sick anymore and so she wouldn't be sad."

"But she wasn't sad!" Aaron insisted, tears filling his eyes once more. "She didn't want to go to heaven! She wanted to stay here!"

"Buddy, no one ever wants to go to heaven until…"

"Then why do they!? Why does God make people die and go to heaven if they don't want to!? It just makes everyone sad!"

Once he said this, the boy covered his eyes and began to sob again. Meanwhile, his father just stared at him for a moment, completely frozen. How on earth was he supposed to answer that? He couldn't just say, Well, God has nothing to do with it. People's bodies aren't meant to last forever, and sicknesses just speed up the process. No, he'd never forgive himself if he told him that. Still, he also couldn't say, It's all apart of God's plan. He works in mysterious ways. He didn't want to lie to Aaron and tell him something that he thought was mostly bullshit, but he didn't want to just slam the Book of Logic and Science on him. Besides, while Ed assumed he knew quite a bit about how this all worked (he had technically met God on multiple occasions, after all), there was no real guarantee he had the whole picture.

Finally, he just took a deep breath and, looking solemnly at his son, told him, "I don't know, buddy. I honestly don't…but…" He gingerly reached out and took Aaron's hands from his eyes, making his son look at him through his tears. His father wiped those away as well. "I do know that Lydia doesn't want you to cry because she's up in heaven now."

Aaron sniffled. "But I'm gonna miss her…"

"And that's alright. It's alright to miss her," Ed actually found himself chuckling, becoming somewhat overcome with emotion. "My mom and dad are up in heaven, and me and Uncle Al miss them a lot. Mommy misses her mom and dad in heaven too. Still, we try to be as happy as we possibly can, because whenever we're sad, they get sad, and you're not supposed to get sad up in heaven." He wiped some more of Aaron's tears and, giving him a smile, asked, "You don't want her to cry up there, do you?"

His son, now quiet, subtly shook his head. "No."

"That's good. You know what I do whenever I start missing someone?"

Sniffle. "What?"

"I think about all the fun stuff we did together. Whenever I think about all the happy times we had, it makes me feel like they're back here with me. Though…" His smile faded a bit, the faces of so many of his passed friends flashing in front of him, "it makes me kind of sad that they're not really here…"

He quickly caught himself, realizing he probably shouldn't have added that last part, but Aaron just stared at him, clearly thinking about the advice he'd just been given. After a few moments of silence, he hesitantly asked, "So, I could think about when we caught those lightning bugs?"

Ed's smile returned, glad he was making some kind of leeway. He remembered his son, daughter, and niece, in addition to the curly haired Bowen girl squealing in the twilight as they chased around little flying lights in the backyard. "Yeah."

"Or when Uncle Al made that slide for us with alchemy?"

"You can think of anything at all, as long as it makes you happy."

Aaron looked at the ground, considering this. Finally, he said, "Okay. I'll try."

"That's good." The Fullmetal Alchemist stood, smiling gently and holding his hand out to his son. "Let's go back home, huh? Your mom's really worried about you."

The boy didn't even hesitate to take his dad's hand, something that pleasantly surprised Edward. Lately, he'd been going through a phase where he didn't want to show that kind of affection to his parents, entering the awkward years between little kid and pre-teen. The two of them walking down the hill together. Halfway down, though, Ed felt the urge to add something to what he'd said.

"Aaron, I'm gonna tell you something, okay?"

"Okay."

"You're gonna know a lot of people who are going to go to heaven, and I know that sounds really sad, but they won't want you to cry either because you miss them. People are going to…die and go to heaven, but you just have to keep thinking about the happy stuff you did together and live how they want you too, okay?"

"Okay."

"Remember that…sometimes it's better to know someone and have them go to heaven then to never know them at all, because then you wouldn't have had so many fun memories with them."

"Okay…"

Aaron gripped his hand a bit tighter, and Ed got the feeling he wanted to just walk in silence. For a couple minutes, that's exactly what they did, but when they reached the edge of the cemetery, Aaron spoke in a quiet voice, "Dad…?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for scaring you."

Ed squeezed his hand tighter. "It's okay."

They walked a few more steps. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell Mom…that I cried."

"Okay, I won't…but there's nothing with crying, you know."

"I know…but still don't tell."

"I won't….I promise."

Gave that one a kind of bittersweet ending, didn't I? Oh, well. It's better than a full whack in the face of depression.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you haven't already, please follow and/or favorite this story and/or me, and be sure to leave a review to tell me what you think!

That's all for now, and I hope you have a wonderful day!