The wind outside had died down some, enough to hear the sound of another person's feet crunching the snow. Everyone inside the cave tensed. Some of the women and children shuffled farther back into the cave while the men gathered at the entrance, ready for a struggle if a Drachman soldier found them. Though Beth knew it could be Edward outside it could just as likely be the enemy and they could not afford to take chances.

Most of the prisoners hadn't had a decent meal in a weak, and some of them were showing signs of illness, no doubt from sitting in a cold, damp cell all this time. A couple of them were showing signs of hypothermia and Sara had developed a notable cough which worried her. Long-story short, they were all tired, hungry, and sick, and obviously in no shape for fighting nor fleeing.

There was a scraping at the entrance, which told Beth that someone was about to find them. It seemed like everyone held their breath as the foreign hand reached through, and not long after, a head. What she didn't expect was said head to get a face full of snow.

Beth turned to see little Sara standing defiantly behind her with another snowball in her hand; a satisfied grin adored her face, happy about the fact that she had taken out their assailant.

She then turned her gaze over to said enemy whom she recognized immediately.

"Ed!" He wiped the snow from his face.

"Hey…" he replied, not really knowing what else to say. Looking around, he noticed the group's gaze was set on him. "So, has anyone else shown up?" They all shook their heads. 'Damn…' he cursed under his breath. 'They'd better get here soon…'

"So, can we go now?" a man in his early 40's with a five o'clock shadow asked.

"Well, I'm still waitin' on two other people to show up…" Ed replied.

"Look, I don't wanna start no trouble here, but I don't think we can afford to wait." Ed looked around and took in the prisoners' rapidly deteriorating conditions. They all looked tired and sick; they all needed a good meal and a warm fire soon or none of them would make it. But Falman and Fuery aren't here yet, and Ed promised Mustang he'd bring 'em home; he doesn't wanna break his promise. But is it really alright to endanger twenty lives with the hope of saving his 2 friends? Where's the equivalent exchange in that?

Taking one last look at the groups' gaunt faces gave him his answer. They had to leave NOW. Falman and Fuery roughly knew the route back to Briggs and if all else failed Ed would personally head back out there to look for them, but for now, the civilians in front of him were more important. He sighed.

"You're right. Let's go…" They all proceeded to pile out of the cave. That was when Beth noticed Ed leaning heavily on a piece of debris as well as his scuffed up face. When someone bumped into his left arm he notably hissed in pain.

"What happened to you?" she asked, delicately taking his injured arm into her hands and gently prodding it, eliciting an 'Ow, ow, ow!' from her victim.

"Takin' care of some business. The debris is over there," He hurled his thumb in the general direction where the remnants of the plane lay.

"Dang…"

"Come on. We can worry about it later. Let's get going…" she nodded and the group began walking. They trekked for about ten minutes before they heard an odd sound.

"What the hell?" Ed stopped and listened, hearing what sounded like muffled screaming. He almost screamed like a girl when the ground under him began to move. He was suddenly thrown off his feet as whatever had knocked him over rose from the snow.

"Shit! It's Drachmans!" the group was immediately put on high alert and Cray was just about to punch one in the face when Ed stopped him. Looking down, he saw a scuffed up Kain Fuery and Vato Falman clamoring from the snow floor's icy clutches.

"God dammit. Didn't I tell you guys to meet at the cave?" Noticing the weird looks from the group, he quickly assured them they weren't the enemy, then went back to bitching them out. "Can't you follow simple instructions?"

"S-sorry s-sir…" Falman apologized trying to get warm. " G-guess we m-missed the cave…" Ed gave them a frightening look before mumbling something under his breath and proceeding to limp onward again. "What was that s-sir?" Ed turned around angrily.

"I said 'Don't call me sir!' I hate it…" He limped on again and everyone else followed him without another word. They shrugged and did the same.

Their trudge took another hour before they reached Ft. Briggs. Amestrian soldiers surrounded them before Ed confirmed his identity and they were all rushed to the infirmary. All of the prisoners had cases of hypothermia ranging in severity as well as malnourishment. Thankfully no one died and soon, they will be transferred to Central hospital for more proper checkups.

Ed trudged over to the bed Beth was sitting on. She was wearing sick clothes and had an empty dinner plate sitting next to her. Ed himself was pretty happy but Beth had her head in her hands. He sat next her. "Hey you okay?" she spoke very quietly, enough that he had to strain himself to hear her but her word's got through.

"We made it…We made it…" Her voice was uneven as she tried to quiet her happy sobs. Ed merely smiled and put an arm around her, allowing her to cry.

Winry was in Granny Pinako's living room looking at old photo albums reminiscing in the past. She looked through many pictures which featured Ed, Al, and herself as well as their parents and other members of the 2 families. She smiled softly when she reached a picture of Ed, Al, and her not long after Al got his body back. A second later the doorbell rang. "I got it, Granny!" she yelled as she jogged to the door.

The person behind it was a young woman, around her age, with long, curly, light brown hair and dark blue eyes. She held a sleeping infant with hair similar to hers in one arm and an overnight bag in the other. Her clothes were plain and a bit dirty which led Winry to believe she probably didn't have much in the money department. She had a sheepish look on her face as she greeted Winry.

"Oh, hello there…I'm Ellen Wills…Sorry to bother you…" Winry smiled at the awkward introduction.

"Oh, you're not bothering me at all! Why don't you come in? You look like you could use some tea…"

"Oh you don't have to, I mean um—" She was ignored as Winry pulled her in. Moments later she somehow found herself on the couch with Winry in the kitchen.

"By the way, I'm Winry Rockbell…" Winry introduced herself as she brought a cup of tea to the stranger. Luckily, Granny had made some not too long ago, so she didn't have to prepare it.

"Oh, thank you…" Ellen said as she took the cup in her free hand, her son still in her other arm. "I wasn't really planning on staying long though. I was wondering if Edward Elric lives here? Is he here?" Winry looked down into her cup a bit sadly.

"He lives here, but he's not home right now. He's on a mission…Um, what did you need?"

"Oh! Um nothing really…Just came to see how he was doing…"

"When did you two meet?"

"Just a couple years ago in North City…"

"Ah…" the conversation dried and Ellen was about to take her leave when her son stirred on her shoulder. "Aw, he's so cute. What's his name?" Winry asked as the young child attempted to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

"It's Nathaniel," Ellen answered, and a motherly smile graced her face when she looked at her son. Winry smiled too.

"Hey there," she attempted to talk to him at first but was stop dead in her track when the child completely opened his eyes. She whispered very quietly. "Does he know…?"

"Huh?," Ellen asked, confused.

"Does Ed know he has a son?"

A/N: and BOOM evil cliffhanger. I've been wanting to write that moment for a while X3 Just remember, this IS an EdxWin story ;)