October 5th, 1990

Sara felt both triumphant and relieved as her feet once again touched Amestrian soil. It was barely dawn, and just as when they left, there was only one car awaiting them at the landing strip outside the city. Though they had returned with a much smaller crew than they had gone out with, which was just as it should be.

She had waited to disembark until Trisha had parked the plane back in its hanger, but then she was on the ground, and in the waiting arms of Franz, whose crushing hug told her unnecessarily just how much she had been missed, and how much he had feared she would not return. Sara returned his embrace by kissing him soundly. When their lips parted, she grinned. "Miss me?"

"Hells, you know I did." Franz gave her a momentarily disbelieving look. "I've barely slept in a month."

"I told you to take care of yourself," she scolded, though there was no vehemence behind it, given he was obviously alive and well.

"Oh, I did," he assured her. "I had enough nagging nannies at home and at work to make you happy." Franz relaxed then. "Your last transmission said things went well."

Sara nodded. "Very well. I can't wait to give our full report to the summit members. They should definitely expect Western Drachma, under the provisional leadership of Gavril Mihalov to declare itself independent from the rest of the country any day now. How many of them are still here?"

"All of them," Franz reported. "They're all dying to know if this crazy plan of yours has any hope of succeeding."

Trisha snorted behind them. "After everything we've put up with? You'd better believe it."

Franz smiled at Sara. "Our daughter still sounds just like you."

"What can I say? I trained her well." Sara stepped back as Trisha joined them, getting a fatherly hug from Franz, and returning it with as much relief as Sara felt at seeing him still whole and healthy. "I know we were gone a little longer than expected, but using the plane to move quickly from town to town and shuttle various mayors and other leaders to meeting locations was invaluable. It helped convince everyone we could do this."

"Well, Mom did a lot of that," Trisha grinned as they walked to the car. "Seems she's something of a legend in the prison system, even though a lot of them didn't really know who she was."

"A legend?" Franz eyed her curiously.

Sara shrugged. "I told you, I made a lot of breakout attempts that were not entirely unsuccessful before they resorted to blocking my alchemy and breaking my body to keep me in line. On the mass attempts, there were plenty of other people who got away who were not high-profile targets. Me…they always wanted me."

"And that made them trust you?"

"You have to understand Drachmans." That was something Sara had learned to do very well; especially these Drachmans. "They're impressed with tenacity, inventiveness, and just being difficult to break. They know most of their prisoners are bureaucrats, embezzlers, and petty thieves. The few ex-military they get within their walls are usually old, broken, retired, or resigned to the fact that walking out of towns that remote without getting caught is generally foolhardy. I didn't know any better, and if I had, I'd probably have kept trying anyway. The fact that I didn't use alchemy to destroy them on the spot convinced them that I might actually have their interests in mind."

Franz still looked puzzled as they got into the car, and he pulled away from the complex. "You'd have been hard pressed to destroy them on the spot with your specialty, wouldn't you?"

Sara exchanged looks with Trisha, and decided not to tell Franz about the more aggressive uses for their style of alchemy she and Trisha had been discussing for the past few weeks. Instead, she nodded, because given her usual methods, it was quite true. "Yes, but they didn't know that."

That got a round of chuckles from everyone in the car. As they drove back into town, Sara filled Franz in on everything that had been accomplished that couldn't be reported back via radio. She had copious amounts of written notes to be typed up into a report, but those could wait. What mattered was that all of the larger towns, and the leadership of the prisons, had agreed to the plan. Some with incredible skepticism, but Gavril, Niki, and Mina had done a great job of convincing them that the West had a change at succeeding, and a tactical and economic advantage. Sara and Trisha had done their best to be backup support only, and further demonstration of the other nations' refusal to acknowledge Savahin's regime as a legitimate and acceptable government while it was hurting its own citizens.

"So it's a done deal then," Franz said as they turned into Trisha's neighborhood. They would all need to be at Headquarters in a couple of hours, but there was nothing more important than family, and Sara knew Roy and the kids would be thrilled to have her home.

Sara nodded. "I actually have a signed copy of the official document with me, as evidence. Gavril said he wanted it disseminated as widely and publicly on an international scale as possible as soon as they make their official declaration through public broadcast channels in Drachma."

"And when are they making that declaration?"

"Tonight."

The group around the table of Franz's private meeting room was much more selective than the full summit hearings, but that was on purpose. It wasn't possible to fit everyone in the room, and it was the only room that had a television already tuned in to the signals that came out of Drachman carrying television signals.
Only the most direct representatives who knew about the currently very secret plan, and a handful of other carefully selected members of the Drachman military were present.

Trisha sat between Roy, and her cousin Minxia and Thrakos, down near one end of the table. Across from them was Minxia's uncle Mao and aunt Jiu. The Aerugeans and Kartosians were further down the table, and at the head sat her parents, the former Drachman Ambassador, Lita Chalmers—who had been the Amestrian ambassador's assistant to Drachma—and then Whitewater, Shock, and her cousin Ted, who was sitting beside the only remaining civilian Drachman of any importance to this mission; Anika. Even sitting, Ted looked like he was hovering over his wife, which was understandable, since she was due any day. Not that she looked focused on anything other than the television. While she hadn't been here, Trisha had already heard from Roy and her father that Anika had been very informative and useful to intelligence in understanding and keeping in contact with the various elements of the Drachman resistance. Her instincts in predicting what might happen next had proved to be good as well. Trisha privately thought it was a shame the woman intended to stick to her career path as a zoologist.

Still, whatever else had happened since she left, a lot of the tension that had been in Ted before was gone.

Whitewater on the other hand, looked terrible. Or at least, strained. Trisha only knew why because Roy had filled her in on that too. It had been a very informative day over breakfast, lunch, and at down moments in the office.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the volume being turned up on the television. Before they'd left Gavril had assured them that their people would be able to hack in and hijack a fairly major Drachman signal. They had also been given a precise time. If all went well, everything was about to change for the Drachman resistance in a dramatic way.

In intelligence, Trisha knew they had another television, hooked up to recording equipment, so they would be able to disseminate and re-play the recording as much as needed. Amestrian news was going to have a field day with it once it got into their hands. If only they knew it was coming.

The news report coming through right now was clearly out of Petrayevka, in a traditional news station, but that wouldn't last long.

Lita would be translating for anyone in the room who did not speak Drachman. Trisha appreciated that, even though her own grasp of the language was passable, and recently refreshed, having someone more fluent in both languages would make it much faster.

Without warning, the signal fritzed. Trisha glanced at her watch. It was within a minute of the scheduled time. Pretty good, considering.

Within moments, it became clear again, only now, Gavril Mihalov, looking businesslike and clean, and very much alive, stood in front of the camera, with the Mayor Ashkov on one side, and Niki Marskaya on the other. The background behind them was a wall covered by a flag that Trisha was familiar with, only because she had seen them hang it; a modification of the Drachman flag, in the same colors, but with a dramatic mountain range carved out of the bottom of the stripes, for the mountain ranges they held.

:Good evening, Drachma,: Gavril spoke out clearly, looking serious, but calm. :It is my distinct honor to address you again, after my recent absence. You have been told many things in recent weeks, and I wish to set some records straight. The first is this. I, Gavril Mihalov, and definitely not dead. The Zinovek government has taken Karmatsk, and killed many, but they failed in their goal to quiet the dissent of the people. I was rescued by several brave members of the resistance movement who still wish to bring peace and security to the people of Drachma. We are not done, and no Drachman should live in fear of the government whose sole purpose is to protect them and lead with fairness and justice. None of these things have been done since Valhov and the Zinovek party murdered dozens of duly elected members of the Drachman government months ago, or since then, as they have suppressed any opposition not with negotiations, but with senseless and unnecessary violence. To those of you living under the crushing boulder, I say this: you can still be free. I am here today, in support of that freedom and to make an announcement. By the unanimous agreement of the leadership of the towns and cities of the Western regions, Western Drachma hereby declares itself independent, no longer under the command of the Petrayevkan government, and free to pursue its own goals, laws, and trade agreements as it sees fit. This new nation has declared their border to be from the foothills of the Carpatian mountain range south, to where that line hits the Amestrian border, taking all of the mountain provinces, and the south-western farm valley with it. Any attempt on the part of the Zinovek government to provoke violence across that line will be considered an act of war. As of this time, all access to the mines and production facilities of the West, are closed to the Drachman government. Get your metals somewhere else.:

The last was a sharp, punctuated statement that caused Drachmans off-screen to cheer. Gavril remained quiet until they stopped. "I wish to make it clear that I do not intend to lead this new country. I am here to advise the people of this region to whom that control rightfully belongs, and support them. Also to say that this is not over. There is still fight left in the Drachman people. The resistance will continue until your rights are restored and peace returns and a proper government is reestablished. Valhov and his followers may have once had noble causes at heart, but their meanings were twisted, and their actions fatal to the Drachman way of life. What governs you now, is not Drachman. Do not let it become so. Thank you.: Then he bowed his head, and the signal cut off again.

Lita finished the last few words of translation, and the room fell silent for a moment.

It was Tore Closson who spoke first, letting out a long, low whistle. "Well, that's one way to smack a rabid dog."

Trisha's father smiled ever so slightly. "Indeed. Let's see if he responds in typical fashion."

October 7th, 1990

No matter the larger events going on in the world, sometimes life stopped for nothing. It was a dark, slate, rainy Saturday afternoon when Anika went into labor as she and Ted worked on getting more things put away and arranged in their new house. It hadn't taken long for them to find one they liked, thankfully, in a neighborhood not too far over from Ethan and Lia's house, that was nice, but the houses were a little smaller. Still, it was a simple, elegant, two-story with a nice yard with large trees and a high wooden fence, that would be perfect for children and pets.

Despite the incredibly short notice on their marriage, Anika had been touched and surprised by the outpouring of good will and gifts that had come from Ted's family and extended friends of the family. Not everything was new, but it was all well taken care of, and incredibly nice. She particularly appreciated that none of it looked like it had come out of an old Drachman palace. As much as she loved her family's ancestral home, antiques one was not supposed to touch except on special occasions did not make for comfortable places to sit around the house.

So they had a big, comfortable couch, and a padded rocking chair, and end tables, as well as a small cabinet that held a television in the living room, and all of the basics one might need for a functional kitchen, including a full set of dishes, flatware, pots and pans, good sharp knives, a tea kettle, mugs, and a variety of useful kitchen appliances. Someone had even pulled a lovely old dining table and matching set of chairs out of storage that looked like they had definitely come out of a well-appointed home. Ted had told her that it came from Tore and Charisa, and had been the primary dining room furniture of Charisa's parents, Heymans and Nancy Breda, during his time as President of the Military.

The bed in their bedroom was new, with a large quality mattress that her body had been immediately grateful for; with good linens and supportive pillows. There wasn't much more in the bedroom yet; a good dresser, and a full-length stand mirror that stood in the corner that she flatly ignored except to make sure clothing was laying properly. The bathroom was well appointed too, with fluffy towels and they had gone and purchased anything they needed for which they had a personal preference.
There were rooms that were still empty, or mostly so. The downstairs had a room that could be a study or library that currently just held the few boxes Ted had brought over from his old quarters that hadn't been unpacked yet. Upstairs was another empty room that they hadn't decided what to do with yet, though keeping it available for possible future children was something Anika had considered. Not that she wanted four—or six!—but she couldn't imagine their son not having at least one brother or sister to play with someday.

The last one, the room closest to theirs in the upstairs hallway, was their baby's room, and that was where Anika found herself on that rainy afternoon, sorting out baby clothes into drawers while Ted assembled the brand-new crib his mother had insisted on paying for because, as she put it, there wasn't one in their family that was available that hadn't been used and worn beyond usefulness.

Given the size of the family, Anika could believe that, and she had simply accepted everything Ted's family offered with gracious and sincere gratitude. In barely a month, they had gone from sleeping in the Embassy to their own home, and a car to help them get where they needed to go every day. Not that Anika objected to public transportation; she'd always taken busses or walked to work in Petrayevka, but she hadn't lived in a suburb, and she hadn't had a little one to worry about. The car was used, but it was in excellent shape.

Perhaps the most breath-taking (and expensive) gift had come from Ted's brother Ian, who had somewhere managed to lay his hands on a very limited-edition print of one of the famous Drachman mountain landscape paintings of Michel Rachamov, the internationally famous classical landscape painter. The original hung in the Imperial Treasures National Museum of Drachman Art. Anika had no idea where or how Ian had acquired a print, but they were extremely rare and expensive. Not outside of say, her parents' price range, but it was not something someone picked up in a department store.

It was the only artwork hanging in the house currently, in the place of honor over the light-colored brick of the fireplace, as the center of the living room, and viewable from both the kitchen and dining room thanks to the open design of the space.

Ted's mother had insisted on staying the month in Central, to be there when the baby arrived. His father, being the mayor of Resembool, hadn't been able to stay nearly so long, though he had promised to be back as soon as he could finish handling some business. Thankfully, his mother had the good sense to stay with other family. Anika liked her, but she appreciated the privacy more.

Between everyone, they had nearly everything they needed in a surprisingly short amount of time, and it was just a matter of putting it all away.

Which was how she came to be sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor of her son-to-be's new bedroom, sorting tiny socks, when she felt the twinge of another contraction—they had been coming and going for three days—followed by a distinctly different sensation.

Ted finished using the screw driver on the last part of the crib, then gave it a satisfied pat. "All done! Nothing's moving this thing." He turned, smiling, then took a good long look at her. "You all right?"

Anika nodded very slowly. "Yes. I… I think that was water…" That was definitely the sensation. "Help me up?"

Ted was by her side in an instant, offering an arm, and helping her get to her feet. He looked a little wide-eyed, but she'd expected that. She was feeling a little startled herself, even having been waiting for this moment for months. Once she was steadily on her feet, she waited. To his credit, when she didn't speak, Ted just waited as well, and she had a feeling he was doing the same thing she was… counting time.

Barely four minutes later another contraction rippled through her stomach, and the baby shifted. "Four minutes."

"Want me to get your bag?"

Anika nodded. The doctors here had seen no reason for concern in their most recent appointments, but she would rather not be rushing to the hospital, particularly in the rain that was sheeting down outside. "Please, and my raincoat. The weather looks unpleasant."

Ted kissed her cheek. "Don't worry. We've got this."

Six hours later, Ted was certain he did not have this. It was just after eight in the evening, and he was certain he was being held together by sheer nerve and coffee. The drive over had been slow due to standing water on the roads, and his determination that arriving safely was most important, and sliding off the road or getting in an accident would slow them down as much as it might hurt someone. Still, safe had brought them in to the hospital with contractions down to three minutes apart, and Ted had expected that things would continue to move at that pace.

Except, they hadn't quite. Despite everything they had read and been told since arriving home, in trying to prepare for the birth of their son, there were things he had still not been prepared for; like the fact that things could slow down again, which they had for several hours after they arrived and got into a room. Progress was still being made, just slowly.

Which meant there was very little he could do to be useful. Or at least, he didn't feel useful. Sure, he could hold her hand, or rub her back when she got up and walked, or make sure she had water, but Anika was doing all the hard work. He was increasingly impressed with how calm she was over the whole thing. Not that he had expected panic, but he had heard so many stories about how labor could go. Everyone handled stress differently, and Anika seemed to be taking this like she did everything else, with calm focus, despite the obvious discomfort.

"You should really go get some dinner," Anika suggested as he helped her sit down again after a period of pacing. "No reason both of us should be starving."

"I don't know. What if something happens while I'm gone?"

Anika gave him a rueful smile. "The nurse said we still had hours. I think you can go down to the cafeteria and back in less time than that. Besides, they'll send someone for you."

Also true, and Ted could not deny that he was starving. "I'll be back soon," he promised, giving her hand a squeeze before reluctantly letting go.

"And I'll be here until you get back."

He turned to see his mother standing in the doorway. "Thanks, Mom." He didn't know who had given her a ride over, but Ted was glad to see her. They hugged briefly, and then she shooed him out the door.

Ted had every intention of getting down and back as fast as possible. If there was something they'd let him just bring back to the room, he would.

He hadn't counted on Ian standing in the waiting room.

"You're Mom's ride?" Ted asked.

Ian grinned. "No, I just like hanging out in maternity wards for fun."

Ted rolled his eyes. "Well, you'll be here in a few months. Might as well get comfortable."

"I think I'll wait before putting down roots thanks." Ian snickered. "I figured if I waited a bit I'd see you. How's Anika?"

"You want the technical answer or the socially acceptable one?"

"I'll take whichever one tells me she's probably in pain but doing okay and it's just going to take time but at least there aren't any complications or you wouldn't be standing out here with me."

"Then why did you even ask?"

"Brotherly concern?" Ian shrugged. "I'd also bet she kicked you out to find food. Want me to join you in the cafeteria?"

"Sure, if you don't need to be anywhere." Ted agreed. He could use the company, and he had spent next to no time with his brother since getting back, or most of his family really outside of his parents. As soon as he had been cleared of any charges of crimes to the country, his uncle had made sure he was put right back to work. Other than being involved in reporting on activities in Drachma, his primary form of punishment seemed to be endless boring paperwork tasks set him by Shock. Ted had a feeling the reports in the filing cabinets had never been so well organized and cross-referenced.

"I won't be missed at home for a while," Ian assured him as they both started walking towards the elevator. "Bonnie's in the middle of a new design project. I might as well not exist when she's in the groove."

"Your fans would never believe it."

"Well, it is pretty humbling, but it does keep things in perspective to know that no matter how successful I am, I am not more important than finding the exact right shade of aquamarine in pure linen."

Ted managed not to snort. They reached the elevator, and rode down to the first floor. "I get that. It's kind of like knowing I'm never going to be more important than a tiger."

"Though I have to say, your wife hand raising a baby tiger is kind of a whole different level than costume design."

"Maybe in levels of weird but awesome," Ted nodded. "Myrda's a pretty awesome tiger, so I don't really mind." He looked around the cafeteria, which was fairly empty this late, and walked up to the line to see what was still available. At this hour, it was mostly pre-packaged items available for purchase, but he didn't mind. He grabbed a roast beef sandwich and a cola, and a large cup of coffee, and paid for them. Ian got coffee, and they picked a random table and sat down. "I should see if we can introduce you to Myrda sometime. I mean, not in her cage, but she's incredibly friendly."

"You know when you talk like that, you make having a tiger in the family sound incredibly normal," Ian commented with amusement.

Ted shrugged, and dug into the sandwich. "After most of this past year, that's sort of the most normal thing in my life. First we were pulling people out of Drachma, then I was fighting with the Resistance in Drachma, and in less than two months we went from living in a hole in a mountain to being in Central, with a new house full of new stuff; well new to me. Ten months ago I was single and lonely, and now I'm married to a Drachman zoologist and we're about to be parents."

"You never did do anything half-way." Ian stirred cream into his coffee. "But I'm glad you're back, safe, and from what I've gotten to see so far, Anika's a great person, so I'm happy for you."

Ted smiled, though he had to finish the food in his mouth before responding. "I figured as much. No one spends that much on a painting for someone they don't like."

Ian chuckled. "There is that. It was a really fortunate find, honestly. We don't go to a lot of gallery shows, but Bonnie was looking for inspiration and we ended up wandering through prints of Drachman paintings and well… there it was."

"It's the nicest thing in the house," Ted admitted. "So, thanks, again. Seriously. I mean, everything is great, but it's been happening so fast being in the house feels a little like I'm living in someone else's space. We haven't really had time to stop running long enough to settle in and make it ours."

"Well, if there's anything you want done around the house, let me know," Ian offered. "I'm sure I can wrangle a few friends, and between the crew, we can probably get anything you and Anika want done."

"Wow. I… thanks." Now that was an offer. "That would be a huge help. The house is in great shape, but we've already got a list of things that would make it feel more…us." It had been an eye-opening month really, discussing what they wanted to do with their new shared space. Home-décor had never really been on their list of priorities to discuss before they had gone house hunting.

"Send it my way and we'll see what we can do," Ian promised. "It's not like you don't have enough on your plates right now."

"If you're sure. I mean, you're not exactly swimming in free time."

Ian chuckled. "Maybe not, but we don't have nearly as much to do as you do, and we've got plenty of time. Besides which, have you ever talked to Bonnie for five minutes? She's so organized the kid's room is already planned and half-done."

Ted nodded. It was true. Despite what appeared to be chaos in Bonnie's workroom at their house, it was clearly organized chaos. She could tell you every project and what each piece went to, even if it just looked like a crazy pile of pins and scraps of fabric to the untrained eye… like his. "Then I accept, and I'm sure Anika will appreciate it." He looked down at his plate, and realized he had already finished the sandwich, soda, and most of his coffee. "I should get back."

Ian stood as he did. "Just have Mom call me when she wants a ride back. I'll make sure she gets home."

Another thing Ted hadn't even thought about figuring out. "Thanks. Hopefully that call won't be at four in the morning."

Ian shrugged. "If it is, that's okay. I'm used to weird scheduling, and the way Bonnie sleeps right now, you wouldn't wake her up if you came to the front door with frying pans."

Now there was a mental image. Ted smiled as they walked back towards the doors. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You know that wasn't an invitation."

"Yeah, I know."

The coffee had long ago worn off, but Ted didn't care. His entire world had narrowed, lying there in a hospital bed. Everything outside might not as well exist, at least for a little while, because everything had been irrevocably changed.

Cradled in his mother's arms, swaddled in a soft green blanket, slept the most incredible little boy Ted had ever seen. Of course, he'd seen a lot of babies just from visiting his brothers, and many of them even had soft downy blond hair, but this one was different, because this one was his son; a fact that both delighted and awed him.

"You are amazing." He gave Anika a gentle squeeze with the arm he had draped around behind her shoulders as he perched on the edge of the bed. "He's amazing."

"Nice to know we agree." Anika replied with a tired smile. "He is incredible. I've never loved anyone as much as I do right now."

"Not even me?" Ted teased. He knew exactly how she meant.

"You come in a close second… tied with Myrda."

Ted chuckled, and kissed her head where he could reach. "Well I feel the same about the two of you."

A quiet knock on the door was almost immediately followed by it creaking open, and his mother's eager face appearing. "Can I come in?" she asked. "The nurses said visitors would be all right now."

"Of course," Anika beat Ted to speaking. "Come meet Nikolai."

Ted's mother closed the door behind her and crossed the room. "He's beautiful," she replied, beaming. It didn't seem to matter how many grandchildren she had, Ted had never seen his mother not get a little emotional about them. "Nikolai is a lovely name. Isn't it also your brother's?"

Anika nodded. "That is Niki's full name, but it's a family name going back generations, and it has lots of traditional nicknames, like Niko, and Kole, so there's usually not a lot of confusion."

"What does it mean?"

"Victory." Ted answered his mother's question. "With everything that's happened this year, it seemed fitting."

"I like it." His mother nodded. "Not that my opinion really matters."

"That doesn't mean we don't value it," Ted pointed out. "Though it's good, because we didn't really have a second boy's name." Not every name sounded good with Elric and it had taken them a lot of time to settle on one they both really liked, even though in the end it seemed like an obvious choice.

His mother's smile said without words what he himself had thought; if they had any more boys, they were going to need to agree on more names. For now, he was glad she didn't say it, because having one child's life to be responsible for was more than enough at this moment.

Instead she stood beside them, marveling and cooing over the baby, as if she did not already have twelve other grandchildren, including Urey's newest that she hadn't even gotten to meet. Ted felt only mildly guilty at having stolen his mother away, but this was his first.

Don't worry little guy. We're going to fix everything going on in Drachma, and someday you'll get to know and love it, too. If it was within Ted's power to do so, he'd make sure Anika got to share the joy of their child with her family as well. His son deserved the full benefits of both sides of his heritage.