As I said, I might start posting more than one chapter at a time, so that explains this little addition. That and it's punishment for not coming home sooner to satisfy my readers' cravings!

P.S. Just to warn you, I think this chappie may be a tad slower than the others...It was one of my harder ones to write...

Chapter Fourteen

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE LEFT?" Edward yelled as he confronted Colonel Mustang early the next morning. He woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to check on Winry, but didn't want to disturb her if she was sleeping. Against Al's and the doctor's wishes, he began to search for her in the hospital, only to find she had left late the prior evening. Edward went straight to Mustang's office to confirm the rumor and was met with the same information, "How could you have let her leave! She's hurt worse than I am! Are you crazy?"

"Brother, you have to calm down, or you'll hurt yourself more…" Alphonse insisted, though Edward did not listen.

"Where did she go? Did you send her on another suicide mission already? She's only got one arm for Christ's sake!"

Colonel Mustang sat in his chair calmly as he listened to the teenager rant. He understood the teen's worries, but also promised to keep any information about the girl confidential. He would be the only person to know of her whereabouts at any specific time, and what she missions she would be sent on. Winry came to his office directly after leaving Edward's room last night, insisting she leave the same night for Rizenbul. The earlier she arrived and was repaired, the sooner she could leave. He denied her request at first, stating she was in no condition to travel at the moment, but was finally convinced when Lieutenant Hawkeye suggested that Second Lieutenant Havoc and Sergeant Fury accompany the girl to her hometown. The two officers escorted the young female to the train, and they left late in the evening. Mustang knew she was running away from the brothers, but opted not to become involved.

Edward balled his automail hand into a fist and slammed it into Mustang's desk after seeing his silent contemplation, "You have to tell me where she went…"

"Full metal, that information is strictly confidential, so I believe you have no right to know where she is," the Colonel said as he watched the teen become angrier, "Now, as I remember you were in the middle of an investigation, so you will be sent back to Heissgart with an escort to finish your report. The Thunder-Blade Alchemist will take some time to recuperate, and then will be sent off on a separate mission. You may leave now--"

"NO! I won't leave until you tell me where she went—"

Lieutenant Hawkeye stepped forward with the last of her patience withering away, "Edward! I believe the Colonel just gave you an order…"

Edward stood before the Colonel's desk, still fuming over the situation. He lifted his eyes to the Colonel and narrowed them, "I will find her, whether or not you give me permission," he sneered before turning to leave.

"Edward, one more thing…"

He turned around to see Hawkeye approaching him with a box. She kneeled before him as she handed it over to the teen, "As she was leaving, Winry wanted me to give you this."

Edward received the box, but did not open it right away, "Thank you Lieutenant. At least one of you has some decency," he said harshly as he walked out the door. Alphonse bowed and apologized for his brother's actions before following him.

"I don't believe this! How could she just leave overnight without saying anything? What is going through her head?" Edward ranted as he and Al walked back into their normal quarters. He threw the box onto the bed and walked over to the window, folding his arms across his chest.

"Why is she doing this?" Al heard Edward mutter to himself. "Brother," he said softly, breaking the silence that had settled, "Maybe she had a good reason for not telling us."

"She's our friend, Al…She should have let us know if there was a problem, and maybe we could have helped her with it," Edward griped to himself.

"What if…we were part of the problem?" Al responded quietly, trying not to let too much of her situation be known.

Edward turned around to look at his younger brother. Arching an eyebrow, he questioned him, "Al, do you know something I don't?"

Alphonse became very quiet and would not make eye contact with Edward. "Al…what are you hiding from me?"

"Ah, nothing! Nothing at all! I don't know what you're talking about brother…"

Edward slowly walked over and sat on the bed by Al, making the younger brother nervous, "Look brother! You forgot to open the box that she left for you," he said, quickly handing the package over to Edward. The elder brother sighed as he looked at the box in his lap.

"She made you promise not to say anything, didn't she," Edward muttered softly. Alphonse nodded slightly to the question as he saw Ed smile slightly to himself. Why does she have to be so damn stubborn? Ed thought to himself. Silence surrounded the two siblings as each became lost in their own thoughts.

"Al? Answer me one question…" Edward finally said, bringing the younger brother from his silence. "Is she at least okay? I mean, from what all happened to her the other day?"

Al looked up to his brother's face to see it riddled with worry, though trying not to show it at the same time, "Yeah, Ed. She's doing okay…" Edward nodded and slowly opened the box that was left for him. In it held not only the extra automail arm and leg she brought with her, but also extra screws and bolts were included in case they were needed. He pulled out a small wrapped package that had a note taped to the top of it. Carefully opening the card, he read the words You'll need these more than I will hastily scribbled on the piece of paper. Setting down the note, he opened the wrapped portion to reveal her wrench and screwdriver.

Edward stared at the small tools and slightly chuckled, "You know, Al, I never thought I'd see the day she would willingly give up her wrench. She's had this thing forever…" A small item towards the bottom of the box caught his eye, and he set down the tools to pick it up. Somehow wedged between the two limbs was the picture of Winry and Edward, the one she kept on her nightstand next to her parents' photo. Edward picked up the picture and gently stroked his thumb across the smooth edges. He carefully folded the picture and placed it in his coat pocket. Looking over to see his younger brother watching him, Edward grinned slightly before standing up and stretching.

"Well, first thing's first. We need to get back to Heissgart to finish what we started, then we'll take a detour on the way back here…"

"You're not planning on going to Pinako's are you brother?" Al said quietly, and then slapped his hand over his mouthpiece as he just realized what he had said.

Edward grinned at his sibling's reaction. "Don't worry, Al," he said as he began to pack a few things, "I kind of knew she would have to go there before anywhere else. She's got to get her automail fixed, right? And who else besides Winry could do such a good job?"

"But, Brother, I don't think that would be a good idea…"

"Nonsense!" Edward exclaimed as he closed his bag, "If we hurry, we may be able to relax for a day or so on the way back. It'd be nice to have Mustang off my back for once." He walked over to the door with his things, and turned around when he noticed Alphonse was not with him, "Come on, let's go!"

Al slowly stood from his place on the bed and shook his head as he joined his older brother for another trip.

Not long after the brothers left their room, they arrived at the train station. As Edward walked into the station, he saw a familiar bald head with a speck of blond hair well above the rest of the crowd. Ed tried to blend in with the rest of the crowd, but did not succeed as he felt a large hand on his shoulder with the accompanying loud voice, "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you…"

Edward turned around and faked a smile to the fellow alchemist. Armstrong nodded back and stared at the boy for a moment. In a split second, Ed felt his shirt being pulled up, and frantically tried to pull it back down, "Hey! What are you doing!"

Major Armstrong let go of the boy's shirt and bowed in apology, "Please forgive me, Full metal, I was going to check your wound to see how it was faring…"

"Well, it's doing fine," Edward huffed as he fixed his shirt and began to climb onto the train. He turned his head to see tears stream from the Major's eyes, "What? What's wrong now--"

Edward was not able to finish his sentence as he was pulled off the train and became stuck in the Major's deadly bear hug. "Oh, Edward, I was so worried for you and Winry! You two were so hurt, and here you sit denying the obvious pain you endured so you can finish your mission! How brave!" the older soldier sobbed while slowly cutting the airflow to the teenager. Al could see Edward struggling against Armstrong, and decided to assist, "Um, Major? We're going to be late if we don't board soon…"

Major Armstrong looked over and nodded to Alphonse, and released Edward, who coughed and tried to regain his breath. "Look, Major," Ed wheezed as he stood up again, "I just want to get this thing over with as soon as possible." He reached down and picked up his bag, then straightened his clothes again and entered the train without saying another word.

The Major watched the teen as he hopped on the train, and patted Alphonse on the shoulder, "Well, shall we?" Al nodded, prompting the two larger people to enter the train back to Heissgart. They were able to find Edward after a moment of looking, and found him sitting in a seat by the window. Al took the seat next to him, with the Major sitting across from them.

The three sat in silence as the train departed and began its journey. Edward began letting his mind drift, but became irritated when each thought wound its way back to Winry. Why did she have to constantly be on his thoughts? He shook his head and tried to think about something else, but eventually began thinking about her instead. How was she doing? Was she okay? Why did she leave?

"Brother? Is something the matter?" Edward heard Al say as he shook his head again. He turned his head to see both Al and Major Armstrong staring at him. "Hmm? Oh, nothing's wrong, I'm just thinking…" He mumbled before turning back to the passing scenery. A moment passed before Edward felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. He looked back to see it was Al. "Brother, she's going to be okay, you don't have to worry about her," the younger brother said. Ed's eyes softened as he nodded slightly in approval.

"That young lady has a very strong will," piped in Armstrong, "it seems as though when her mind is set to a task that nothing will be able to stop her…"

Ed chuckled slightly, "Yeah, she is pretty stubborn. You should have seen all the fights we had when we were younger. But we never could stay mad at each other for long." He scratched the back of his head after a moment and looked down.

"Uh, Major?" Edward said quietly. He could hear the older man shift in his seat, and looked up to see him looking at him. "I, uh…I just want to thank you for helping all of us the other day. I don't know what would have happened if –"

"There's no need to thank me, Edward Elric. You are a fellow comrade that was in need of assistance," interrupted the Major, not wanting the conversation to delve into the teen's injuries.

Edward understood what the older man was trying to do, and smiled slightly, "Yeah, fellow comrade…"

"Why were you in Heissgart though, Major? Colonel Mustang had already sent brother and Winry to investigate the outlaw alchemists at that point," inquired Al. He heard Ed laugh from his side, and looked to see him stretch out.

"Isn't it obvious? Mustang sent him because he knew we would get into trouble, isn't that right Major? Trouble always follows us, Al…"

Major Armstrong nodded slightly, "It was just as a precaution. Not long after you were sent on your mission, we received word of Scar's sighting near Heissgart. Knowing there would be obvious conflict if the girl saw him, the Colonel decided to send me as backup."

Edward furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean 'if she saw him'? Winry asked me to tell her about Scar, but I never got around to it. She said she only knew about as much as the public…" he trailed off. "But then after she escaped and came back, she accused him of killing her parents. Where would she get an idea like that?" He looked up to see the Major looking in the other direction, obviously wanting to end the conversation.

"Major, what did the Colonel tell her?" Edward growled, as realization hit him.

Silence surrounded the three, and Alphonse was grateful the train car they were in was relatively empty. He looked to the Major to see him staring off into the distance. "Major," he heard Edward say again harshly, "What did he tell her?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Rockbell were such nice people, it is sad to think of their deaths…" Armstrong said after a few more moments. He turned his head to see the two bewildered teens. "But you will have to ask the Colonel himself why he decided to withhold the information. It is not my place to disclose it."

The Major watched as Edward sighed and looked outside the window once again to ignore the older alchemist. He understood the teen's anger and yearn for information, but he was not the one to divulge it to them.

Hours passed before the train finally pulled into the small Heissgart station. Nothing had been said between the three companions since the small argument earlier, and the silence continued as they exited the train. Once off the train, Edward looked around the small station and sighed. He reached into his coat to pull out the picture and looked at it for a few moments. He finally placed it back into his pocket and turned to his companions, "I don't want to be here long. I've got other matters to take care of on the way back…"