Chapter Twenty Eight-A New Home

Alphonse was a little too familiar with the bleakness that surrounded him. He had been in this place for several years after all so it actually still felt normal being here now, which was something he had hoped he didn't feel anymore. Glancing up, he stood before his own large gate.

"I figured you'd show up sooner or later. The two of you are like a bad penny." He turned to see the Gate Keeper standing there. Alphonse removed the red stone from his pocket, catching the Keeper's attention. "Oh so that's what you're exchanging, I find that interesting. I could have sworn that human transmutation was something you agreed to avoid."

"I didn't make this myself and I wasn't going to use it to get my brother back."

"So why bring it here at all?" Al held it out away from himself.

"I don't want anyone else to use it, that's all. Can you keep it?" The Keeper scratched the side of his head, not expecting that response.

"Well I suppose I have a place that these souls will be safe." Alphonse handed the stone over. "Now what are you willing to give me for your brother?" Al glanced back at the gate behind him. "Oh I see, are you sure about that?" Al smiled back the the Keeper.

"I don't need it and it's not like I use it much now that I use Alkehestry."

"Suit yourself." The gate started to dissolve until it was gone and Ed was standing on the other side of it. Alphonse gave him a feeble smile as he walked over to him.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused everyone," He joked as he made it over to his older brother.

"Sounds like I have a mess to look forward to along with an obnoxious lecture from Mustang." He rubbed his forehead. "Oh well, it's better then being stuck here, bored out of my mind." Al laughed at his antics.

"I know how you feel. Come on." The white around them faded into darkness until they found themselves in the middle of Central, standing in a puddle of mud. Ed brought his arms around himself as he started to shiver.

"We couldn't come back to a dryer place?"

"It was raining when I left actually," Al explained before turning to see May still standing there.

"Alphonse," She chirped loudly and hurried over with her umbrella for him. Giving him a hug, she held it over both their heads. "It felt like you were gone for such a long time, I was starting to get worried."

"Aw May, you were worried about me, that's so sweet."

"You wouldn't have any room for a third person under that umbrella, would you?" Edward pushed his wet bangs out of his face as his teeth began chattering together. May stuck her tongue out at him causing him to narrow his gaze at her.

"You need to go see Winry! She's been really lonely without you!" May pointed angrily at him and for once he didn't argue back and it wasn't cause Alphonse was there. Glancing up at the nearest building, he realized they were in front of the dorms. Without a second thought, he ran as fast as he could for the entrance and up the stairs.

oOoOo

Winry was laying on the bed, one hand on her forehead while the other gently rested on her stomach. She wondered when she would know if Al had been successful. Trying to think of something else, the baby came to mind and she couldn't help but wonder if it was going to be a boy or a girl. The idea of Ed when he was a kid came to mind and she found herself smiling at the thought. She would love to have a little boy. Even when they were kids he was always so adorable in her eyes even though she had hated him half the time cause he picked on her. He had to come back, she couldn't do this without him. Before she was able to think too much about his absence, there was a loud knock on the door. Sitting up, her heart was pounding in her chest as she hurried over. She tried so desperately not to get her hopes up but it was becoming more difficult as she reached the door. Unlocking it and pulling it open, her blue eyes met Ed's amber gaze. Before he had a chance to say anything, he remembered what Pride had said to her last and his voice didn't want to cooperate. Letting out a weak cough, he cleared his throat.

"Winry...I..I'm sorry. What I said to you, it wasn't me and..." He wasn't permitted to finish as tears came to her eyes and she reached for him, grabbing his damp shirt and pulling him closer to her. The sobs erupted from her as she buried herself into his large frame.

"You idiot,... just hold me!" He instinctively brought his arms around her shoulders and leaned into her.

"I'm here now, okay?" He felt her kiss his neck between sobs. Trying to move into the room more and closing the door, his leg made a grinding sound followed by a pop. "Whoa." Winry felt his left side give and she moved some to keep him from falling over. He let out a weak laugh. "I'm so great at ruining our nice moments,aren't I?" She rubbed her face before helping him over to the bed.

"Yeah, you're sort of hopeless." Turning on the light, she hopped on the bed next to him while he struggled to get his pants off. Once she got a better look at his leg, she immediately found the problem. "Guess Lt. Hawkeye didn't go easy on you, did she?" The obvious bullet hole at the metal knee could only be caused by one individual with incredible aim.

"I can't say I blame her though."

"Oh well, I don't feel like fixing it tonight. I've had a crazy last couple of days. You'll just have to wait till tomorrow."

"Really? But that means I can't even go to the bathroom." Winry smiled up at him.

"Yup, I want you all to myself for now. You'll just have to hold it."

"That doesn't seem very fair."

"Too bad." Winry turned off the light and snuggled up to him. "Just go to bed." Sighing, he settled more against her.

"Guess I should just be happy you're not mad at me." Winry yawned in response.

"Yup, night Ed."

"Night."

oOoOo

Alphonse awoke the next morning to the sound of the phone ringing in his room. Glancing around, he noticed the sun was already up and he wondered how late he slept in. Reaching over, he grabbed the receiver.

"Hello?" His voice was still heavy with sleep.

"So I take it everything's okay, considering I didn't have a frantic phone call from anyone." Genera Mustang's question came out more as a statement, his tone having an amused quality to it.

"General? I'm so sorry I completely forgot to call you." Alphonse scratched his head making his already disheveled hair look even more unkept. There was a slight chuckle on the other side of the line.

"It's okay Alphonse. I take it everything went well?" The younger Elric breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes it is. Eds' back and he's himself. Of course I don't know how happy that will make you."

"Yeah, it's a shame you couldn't make him, I don't know more polite or respectful? Humility would've been a nice trait."

"No, I'll take him the way he is, besides I think Winry wouldn't have been happy if we changed him."

"Well when you get a chance tell him to swing by the office. I have something for him." Alphonse stifled a yawn before answering.

"I'll tell him to stop in later." They ended their conversion and Al placed the receiver down on the cradle. He stretched his arms behind his head before scooting off the bed. Heading into the bathroom he decided to get cleaned up. He hadn't even changed last night and he couldn't remember why. Had he honestly been that tired? Once he washed his face with a damp washcloth, he actually felt much better. However it was very important that he get Edward up and tell him to go see Mustang. He really did feel bad about failing to call the Flame alchemist the night before and knew he needed to make it up.

oOoOo

Winry tried to roll over only for something heavy to prevent her movement. Opening her eyes, she noticed how Ed was almost completely on top of her and snoring loudly as well. And due to the mass of solid muscle that he was, his weight was crushing her.

"Ed, come on, move over." She pushed at him only for the response to be his arm swinging over onto her shoulder. He had the tendency to hog the bed, pillows, covers, space and even her. There was a light knock on the door which only made it that much more pressing that she get up. Sliding as best she could, she managed to get out from under her husband. Grabbing a bathrobe, she wrapped it around herself before opening the door. Alphonse was standing there and didn't seem his normal neat self. "Al? Is everything okay?" Her brother in law typically rubbed the back of his head.

"Um, I hope I didn't wake you, Winry. Is Brother up yet?" She turned back into the room, her mouth drawing into a thin annoyed line. Ed's snoring had managed to get louder.

"No, but he should get up anyway." She moved into the room and grabbed her pillow. As she hit him in the head, he turned onto his side, avoiding the abuse while still asleep. "Come on, Honey. Wake up." She finally got a disapproving moan.

"Aw, give me a break Winry, come back to bed and snuggle." His complaint was accompanied with him pulling the covers up more. Ever since he got his arm back several years ago, he was more determined to enjoy sleeping in whatever position was comfortable. When he had an automail arm, the only position that worked was sleeping on his right side with his arm tucked under his pillow. Otherwise, he would end up slinging it in the night and hitting himself in the face or somewhere else unpleasant. And since Winry always slept on his right side now, his automail leg didn't bother her. But then, it never had anyway, no matter how inconvenient it could be. Edward opened on eye giving her a mischievous look that she recognized quickly. "And you know we don't have to just snuggle..." Winry let out a tired sigh and dropped her shoulders.

"Before you go any further with that thought, Alphonse is here to see you." Without a second thought about staying in bed with Winry, Ed sat up and leaned forward, seeing Al standing near the door.

"Hey Al." He didn't bother feeling embarrassed about where his conversation was about to go with his wife and Alphonse shook his head in disbelief.

"He has no shame," Al muttered to himself as he walked further in. "I wasn't going to stay long, just wanted to tell you that when you get a chance later, you need to stop by Central Command. General Mustang said he has something for you." Ed tilted his head to the side and arched a brow.

"Isn't that what you had on yesterday?" Al glanced down at his clothes and let out a huff, "Soo..." Ed's voice came out in a sing song tone as he leaned his chin on his hand. "Anything else happen last night? Maybe with May?" Al's face flushed and he grit his teeth while clenching his fist at his sides.

"How can you even think about something like that, Brother!" Ed's suspicious expression shifted into a goofy smile.

"Yeah, your right. You probably just fell asleep in your clothes. That sounds more like you anyway. The bean sprout wouldn't try anything either."

"So you just made the accusation to frustrate me?" Alphonse narrowed his gaze at Edward. "Anyway, go see the General." With that final word of advice, Alphonse quietly turned and left the room.

"Aw so you're leaving now," Ed complained loudly.

"I need to take a shower and get some clean clothes! This whole thing is giving me a headache," Al's whining wasn't normal but he had been stressed and Edward always did know what buttons to push to annoy his normally quiet sibling. "I'll catch up with you later." He closed the door behind him as he headed out into the hallway.

"That was weird." Ed scratched his head.

"Maybe it was cause you teased him about May." Winry brought up, drawing her gaze over to him. He shrugged back innocently which caused her to lean over him with her hands on her hips. "You'd better not mess that up for him. Despite how you feel about her, I like May and she's perfect for him. It's bad enough their relationship is moving at a glaciers pace. And you're not helping speed things up." Edward glazed over before moving to the end of the bed.

"Alright, alright!" He started to get up but stopped when the automail shifted unnaturally. "Hey," he interrupted her rant.

"What?"

"Can you fix this?" He pointed down with a pathetic look on his face. It was enough to make her grin slightly.

"You're so helpless without me." As much as he wanted to argue back, there was no point making her angry. He already knew enough about the rage that pregnant women could posses. Many a man almost died at the hands of an emotional pregnant women. So he just sighed in response.

"Yeah I know."

oOoOo

When Edward walked into the General's office, he was on the phone. Shifting his gaze over to the door, he motioned for Ed to come in before getting off the line quickly. Still wearing the smile from his lighthearted conversation, he took a minute to look over at Ed.

"So you are normal now, right?" Edward half expected him to get his gloves ready just in case. Rolling his eyes, he let out a sigh before taking a seat.

"If I wasn't normal, you'd already be dead."

"I see. But then I couldn't give you this." He opened a drawer nearby and retrieved a thick white envelope.

"What's this?" Ed leaned forward and grabbed the envelope and opened it, seeing quite a bit of money inside. His amber gaze went wide as he looked back at Mustang.

"Well I had to compensate you for your time and travel expenses." Edward wanted to laugh.

"Yeah I was a big help. I probably caused more damage then anything else." Even so he and Winry could really use that money. It was definitely more then what the military would have paid him if he was still employed by them.

"As true as that may be, it was obvious that Pride wanted you and who knows how much more damage would have been done to the city. And it was Al who handled Pride in the end anyway. Which reminds me, this is his pay for helping with that." He brought out another envelope of money and handed that to Ed as well. The blond shook his head back and forth.

"You can't just go around handing out large amounts of money to whoever you want!" Roy arched a brow as he leaned on his folded hands.

"Can't I? We both know the military would have spend way too many man hours trying to figure out this mystery and as for handling a homunculus, well I don't know a whole lot of State alchemists around now that could handle it. They haven't been able to replace the Fullmetal alchemist no matter how many talented individuals they find."

"Yeah, well as flattering as that may be, I'm retired."

"Right, and you've got a kid on the way? Funny, I don't think you can afford to be retired." Ed sighed heavily.

"You're not making it any easier. As much as I miss alchemy, things are better this way, somehow."

"Actually I've got something else for you." The General grabbed a paper off the side of his desk and placed it in front of Edward. Despite the teasing he had already endured, Ed pulled his glasses out to look over the page. Roy decided to just tell him what it said. "How would you like a permanent job here in Central?" The confused look on the older Elric's face caused Roy to let out a laugh. "We need someone who knows alchemy. Like I said the State alchemists lately have been lacking in knowledge. The position would be two folds. You would be one of the officials heading up the State alchemists' exams. Let's face it, if they can impress you then they might be worth our time. Also you would be a consultant whenever there was a situation that needed your expert opinion." Edward dropped his head, staring at the two envelopes he held.

"You're thinking awfully high of what I used to be able to do."

"You still remember it, don't you? It's not like you lost your book smarts." Roy's confidence was evident on his face. "Also all Winry and your expenses will be paid for. You'll get to pick an apartment in town, whatever she wants."

"So what's in this for you? There's always a catch somewhere." Ed grinned back, knowing Mustang way too well.

"There's no catch, Ed. While you were in the military, you did a lot of good for our image. Did you really think all that hard work was going to be ignored. I've already got the approval for this from the Furer." Ed's smile grew slightly. He had forgotten how tight Roy had been with the old man.

"Alright, I can't say I'm not interested. Let me talk to Winry first."

"I figured you would have to discuss it with her." Mustang leaned back in his chair while Ed placed the two envelopes into his jacket pocket.

"Well you should know something about that." Edward rose from his seat. "From what I heard, you practically begged the Lieutenant to go on a date with you." The General's smug expression dropped and he felt his temper rise.

"It didn't happen that way and now I'm gonna have to kill Havoc." He stood as well and stomped to the adjacent office to hunt Jean down. Riza watched him walk past her desk and wondered what was going on. Turning back, she glanced up at Ed as he placed his glasses on his head and closed the General's door.

"What did you say to set him off?" She knew Ed had something to do with this. He narrowed his gaze and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"You know what's not fair, the fact that you agreed to go out with him before I could mess with you the same way you messed with me." She tilted her head, confused by the accusation. Letting out an exasperated sound, he elaborated. "With Winry." Riza found herself smiling at the thought and her voice lightened in response.

"Oh that. Well, it was true. And you two are so cute." He slouched his shoulders and let out a huff.

"And to think I'm considering coming back to all this."

oOoOo

After knocking twice, Edward waiting patiently in the hallway until the owner answered the door. She smiled brightly as she welcomed him inside.

"Hey Edward, it's been such a long time." He found himself scratching the back of his head and smiling back.

"How have you been, Miss Gracia?"

"Oh stop that 'Miss' thing, you'll make me feel old. We've been fine. Winrys' in the kitchen." Heading in the direction he found Winry making cookies with Elicia standing on a chair next to her.

"Should have known you couldn't come over here without baking something," he commented as he walked over.

"Hi Edward! You know you've gotten really big," Elicia commented, looking up at him.

"Well thank you, Elicia. Glad someone noticed. You've gotten pretty big yourself." He honestly didn't remember how old she was the last time he'd seen her. As much as he had felt responsible for her father's death, her mother and she would not except his pity. "Hey, can I borrow Winry for a second. I just have to tell her something." The young girl hopped off the chair and headed into the living room with her mom. Ed tried to keep his voice down during their private conversation, however when he got to the end, Winry let out a high pitched squeal of excitement and jumped at him.

"Edward, that's great!"

"Yeah but you don't have to yell so loud!" They walked out into the living room, now having to explain what was going on.

"Elicia, we're going to be moving to Central," Winry announced.

"Really? Then I can see you all the time, Sissy!"

"Yup."

"Well that will be nice, then we can get to see more of the baby when it gets here," Gracia stood from her seat and hugged the two of them. "I'm so happy for you two." She sounded emotional and it caused Ed to worry some. As she pulled away and wiped under her eyes, she smiled. "I know what, you should stay for dinner tonight. And Ed, you should invite your brother."

"Uh, okay." He breathed a little easier now.

oOoOo

Eight months later (more or less)

The door opened quickly as the blond dashed out into the hallway. Several pairs of eyes stared at him in shock as he heaved a sigh of relief. Another second went by before there was a scream from the room he'd just so suddenly escaped from.

"Edward Elric, you get back in here!" Alphonse glared at his brother.

"Brother, what are you doing out here?" Edward smiled faintly as he shook his head.

"She's going to kill me."

"She is not going to kill you," Al promised him.

"This is all your fault, I'm gonna kill you!"

"See, I told you," he huffed out. Among the people that had shown up for support other then Al, Riza, Roy, Pinako, May and even Jean all pointed back at the door. He dropped his shoulders and turned back. "It was nice knowing you all." Winry had been in labor for several hours now and it wasn't getting any easier. Even though she was the one in pain, Ed was starting to reach his limit as well. There was nothing he could do to speed up the process or make things any more comfortable for her. Another hour went by before there was the sound of a baby crying and everyone sighed in relief.

"Hey Alphonse," Mustang leaned forward to get the younger Elric's attention. "Whatever you do, don't let Ed teach this kid alchemy. I don't know if the world can survive something like that." Al found himself smiling back.

"Is that so," Riza joined into the conversation, taking Roy's hand in hers and causing him to turn back to her. "So does that rule apply when we have kids?" The Flame alchemist's face became substantially whiter at the thought.

"Huh?" It was something they really hadn't spoken about up to this point in their relationship however now that Hawkeye was sporting a nice sized rock on her finger, these kind of things were bound to come up. Havoc caught on and leaned on the General's opposite side.

"And if you think you can order me to babysit, you can forget it." Mustang turned his attention to his Second Lieutenant and reached onto his pocket, retrieving his entire pack of cigarettes.

"That's what you get for sticking your nose in where it's not needed."

"Aw come on, sir. It was a joke." The door opened again and Ed came out beaming as he held the new life in his arms.

"It's a boy," he announced, his normal cocky attitude somewhat subdued. Al was the first over to him to get a better look at his new nephew.

"Yes, I'm an uncle. That's awesome!" May joined the two brothers.

"Is Winry okay?"

"Yeah, she's probably just a little tired." An empty pitcher hit him in the back of the head as there were no wrenches or anything heavier to throw.

"Edward, you bring me back my baby, right now!" He glanced back into the room at his irritated wife.

"You want everyone else in there too, cause it's starting to get crowded out here."

"They can come in one at a time but I want my baby."

"Yah know, he's my kid too," Edward hollered back as he brought the baby over to the bed. Pinako shook her head in disbelief.

"Yes, this is a healthy environment for a kid to grow up in."

oOoOo

The morning wore on and eventually everyone had to leave but friends kept filtering in throughout the day. Armstrong came by and practically broke Ed in half with one of his crushing hugs all the while telling the blond how happy he was for them.

Sig and Izumi stopped in later in the day as did Gracia and Elicia. Around dinner time, Ed hurried out for some food while Winry got some rest. When he got back, he paused when he noticed two men just standing outside Winry's hospital room. Arching an eyebrow he walked past them, without any reaction.

"Hey Winry, what's with the guys outside?" He brought his attention to the bed and noticed another visitor there, holding his son. Winry didn't seem to mind and was smiling as the dark haired individual rocked the infant quietly.

"Yah know, I came all the way here but I'm still not seeing what the big deal is about having a kid," Ling didn't even look up to acknowledge Ed standing there. The blond scoffed back at him.

"Yeah well by now I'm sure you have like twenty five already so why would you get it." The emperor returned the look he was receiving.

"Look Winry, he brought us food!"

"Us?" Ling stood and hurried over, handing Ed the baby and taking the bag from him. "Hey some of that's mine!" But Ling was already back next to Winry, handing her some of the food as he surveyed what Ed brought back. "Considering I traveled all the way here, it's only hospitable and your wife has been through a lot so she should get whatever she wants. So far you're the only one in the room that hasn't done much today." Edward was dumbfounded by his logic. Winry just shrugged back as she started eating.

"He does make a point."

"Hey, you're not suppose to take his side, he's a leech on society. I bet he didn't even get papers or whatever you need to get in this country legally this time."

"It's called diplomatic immunity, Ed."

"It's called I can still kick your ass, Ling."

"Edward, don't cuss in front of Van."

"You already named the baby? Without me!"

"Ling helped with it. And besides it's sort of like your dad's name. Do you like it?"

"I don't know if I do like it or not considering I had nothing to do with it. Winry, we were suppose to do that together." He actually seemed hurt.

"You can always name the next one," Ling brought up with a mouth full of Ed's dinner.

"I don't know if I can handle all this again." Edward slumped over to another chair, just happy to have a minute to himself and his son. Staring down at the infant for several seconds, he realized the name thing didn't really bother him so much.

"Van, huh?" The baby let out a tiny yawn in response and opened his eyes for the first time that Ed had seen that day, looking back up at him. "Yeah, I guess I can live with that." At some point Edward dosed off and a nurse came in to check on Winry. Carefully taking Van out of Ed's arms, she handed him back to his mother. After placing a blanket on Edward, the nurse left the room, leaving the extremely dressed down emperor along with the automail mechanic. Ling leaned on his knees and smiled when the baby stretched his small arms out as though trying to get comfortable.

"He is really cute by the way." Winry smiled at the compliment.

"Yeah, I think he looks more like Ed then me but that's okay. Ed was pretty cute when he was little." Ling let out a light chuckle as her back handed comment. "So do you have any kids yet?" The emperor shook his head.

"No, there's been a lot that I've had to do in my country which has kept me pretty occupied. That and the fact that I don't know if I agree with this mentality we have there about having so many kids. I just don't feel like I have to repopulate the world or anything."

"Yeah, I get that."

"And when I do have kids, I want to actually have a relationship with them. I really didn't have that with my dad." His gaze shifted to his sleeping friend off to the side. "And considering how much Ed disliked his old man, I think you've got nothing to worry about either. You'll both be okay." Ling only stayed a little longer before heading out. Edward slept till morning despite the uncomfortable hospital chair. They were able to go home the next morning.

"It's so nice to be home." Ed mentioned as he opened their apartment door. The house was quiet and exceptionally clean considering the rush they had been in, last they were here.

"Al must have come by and cleaned up for us. That was nice." Winry immediately headed for the nursery to put Van in his crib. He let out a noise that almost sounded like a giggle, his big amber eyes staring up at her. "This is your room." She spoke to him like he understood her. Ed came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning into her hair.

"Mmm, this is nice. Do I really have to go to work tomorrow?" Winry laughed at him.

"I don't know if calling in sick when everyone saw you today would be such a good idea." He stuck his tongue out, knowing she was right. She pointed at his face.

"See, you're gonna teach him all sorts of bad habits doing stuff like that around him."

"That should be the least of your worries. I'm determined for him to be an 'alchemy freak' before you turn him into a 'gear head'."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Despite how stubborn they both were about this kind of argument, there was no point right now. Enjoying the peace of being home and being a family was more important. These past several months had been hectic with the move to Central while Winry was pregnant. But everything had worked out and things were really looking up. It was more then Edward could ever have hoped for.

-End?

The phone rang loudly just as Ed was finishing up his coffee. Picking up the receiver, he cleared his throat.

"Hello?"

"Sorry to hear your not feeling well, Elric." Roy's tone was serious as he spoke. "I understand you probably will need the rest of the week off. Don't worry about it. Feel better, bye." The line went dead and Edward stared at the receiver still in his hand.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm gonna pay for this in the long run?"

A/N- Man, now it's over.::sigh:: Now I don't have another chapter to use as leverage for reviews but still if you feel compelled to write me one, I would greatly appreciate it. Also in case anyone wonders I used Van for their son's name in another story I wrote. Guess I am just not creative enough to come up with more then one name. Also to note, the whole scene where Al goes to Winry and Ed's room and mentions Ed having no shame. That scene actually came from real life as I am married and my younger brother isn't. I still felt it was a sibling thing that would work. And when the Gate Keeper says "Suit yourself" to Alphonse that really was no pun intended. XD So thanks to everyone who read this, really appreciated the support. :)

::update:: Just started the sequel to this called Crushed. So feel free to check it out.