"what's gone is forever lost...

•••

Long train rides always meant a time to think. For Iris, that was both a good and bad thing. She constantly had something on her mind.

'This month has been so crazy,' she thought, looking out the window. 'I guess I get into more trouble when I'm around those two Elric boys.' She took a glance at them sitting across from her and Winry. She averted her eyes before Edward noticed.

'Yeah.' She clutched her scarred stomach from the battle with the Ishvalan. A small frown was placed on her face. 'Lots of trouble.'

"I have a surprise!" Winry announced suddenly, her expression chipper. Seemingly out of nowhere, she pulled out a circle of pie with a cover on top. Iris thought it was funny how Ed's eyes immediately lit up when seeing the pastry.

"Mrs. Gracia gave it to me before I left," she explained, folding back the cover to reveal an apple pie cut into slices. Giving Iris, Edward, and herself a napkin, she handed them a piece.

"Don't worry, Al. She gave me the recipe so that when you get your body back, I can make it for you."

"That sounds really nice." he admitted. "Thank you, Winry."

"Mm, this apple pie is great!" Ed exclaimed, talking with half his mouth still full.

"Yeah!" Iris agreed. "Back when I was first put into custody of Roy and wasn't a state alchemist, I used to stay at the Hughes' all the time. Gracia would make me whatever I wanted. It was wonderful." She smiled at the memory.

"The Hughes' are really hospitable and nice, huh?"

"Yeah, sure, but the Lieutenant Colonel gets so annoying sometimes," Ed pointed out. No one exactly argued with that. "Plus, his daughter is spoiled rotten because of him."

"Still, he did do his best to visit when he could, brother."

"Okay, you got me there."

"We should do something nice for him when we go back to Central," Al suggested.

"Yeah, we should."

•••

The gunshot went unheard.

•••

The ringing phone was heard. He picked it up.

"Sir, there is a Lieutenant Colonel Hughes on the line for you. He wishes to speak to you immediately."

Colonel Mustang sighed. It was the third time today that his so-called best friend had called, and it was only ever to gush about his 'lovely' daughter or his 'breathtaking' wife.

"Put him through."

Any more of this and he would never pick up the phone from Hughes again.

It took a minute to connect, but as soon as he heard a click, he spoke clearly.

"If this is another daughter story, hang up the phone now."

Silence.

"Hughes?"

No reply. He could hear the wind from the night. Or was that... breathing?

"What is it, Hughes?"

The line went dead. He stared at the telephone.

'Maybe it was another daughter story after all.'

•••

As soon as the train stopped, Winry bolted. She didn't sit in that rock of a chair for two hours just for nothing.

"Winry!" Ed called, running after her. "Wait!"

"I guess we better go join them." Iris smiled.

Alphonse grabbed the luggage. "Yeah, let's go."

When they got the two blondes to stop, they all took in the glorious city.

"It's Rush Valley!" Winry squealed.

"There's automail everywhere," Al gaped.

"C'mon, let's go."

As they walked further into the city, Alphonse noticed Iris acting a little strange. She chewed at her lip with her teeth and would occasionally wince. The two were farther behind Edward and Winry, so he brought up the subject.

"Iris, are you alright?"

Iris snapped out of her thoughts when her name was called. She looked up at Al.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be fine Al," she said, running a hand through her bangs. "Sorry if I'm acting weird. Big crowds in new environments aren't really my thing. There are so many people, and thoughts of them kind of overflow my senses and give me trouble. Trust me, it took me a long time to adjust to a big city like Central.

"As far as I know, worse comes to worst and I get a migraine or pass out," she explained.

"That sounds really serious!" Al exclaimed.

"No, no, no, don't worry! I'll be okay, I promise."

"Hurry up, guys!" Ed called, glancing over his shoulder at them.

"Coming!"

As they delved deeper into the city, Edward could feel eyes on them, or at least him. After another minute he finally looked around to see that everyone had stopped to stare at him. All the people working in the shops had come out, and it seemed as if he was the rarest thing they had ever seen.

Winry pulled Iris and Alphonse away from Ed, knowing all too well what was about to happen.

"Wha-?!"

Before he could even get a single word out, Ed was ambushed by just about every automail shopkeeper in sight. They swarmed him like insects, and he had no escape.

"What's happening, Winry?!" Al shouted, confused.

"Just watch," was her response.

Soon enough, clothes that were unmistakably Ed's flew into the air.

"Huh?"

"They want to see his automail, that's all."

"And they had to take off practically all his clothes?!" Iris stammered, averting her eyes. Sure, she was curious about his automail, but not so eager that she would watch whatever's happening in that crowd!

"Shouldn't we go help?"Al asked, concerned.

"Eh," Winry shrugged. "He'll be fine."

After Ed had threatened everyone in the crowd that he would, quote, "break off their feet and stick them on their heads," he broke free and caught up with the others.

"Did you guys even think to help me out back there?!" Ed shouted as his friends.

They all whistled and turned their heads in innocence.

"Pft. Whatever. I'm getting out of heRE?!" He suddenly flipped out, hysterically checking the pockets of his pants he just put back on.

"What is it?" Iris questioned. He looked absolutely horrified, and that made her tense and on edge.

"My... My watch!" he yelped, looking around in circles.

'Out of all the things..!' Iris sighed in relief then let out a laugh.

"Roy is going to kill you for that!"

"Which is why you're gonna help me find it!"

"Chill, Ed." Winry acknowledged his stress, but it couldn't have gone far. "Just tell us what it looks like."

"Show 'em, Iris!" Ed commanded. She had one too, after all.

"Okay, okay! Keep your pants on!

"Seriously..." she added as an afterthought.

She patted her pants, looking for her prized pocket watch to find it...

"Gone?!"

Edward proceeded to freak out, and this time Iris joined in with him.

After getting information from the townspeople about a thief known as Paninya located at the top of the mountain, Alphonse and Winry dragged their two friends up the damn mountain.

The mountain was enormous, and adding to the fact that it was sweltering hot, the teenagers felt as if they were dying. Except for Alphonse of course. That poor soul couldn't feel a thing.

"If I die... make sure my gravestone description says... cute automail engineer..." Winry panted, looking up at the sky.

"Mine should say... 'better alchemist than... Edward Elric'..." Iris answered, giving a weak smirk to the said boy.

"Like that's... ever... gonna happen." He scoffed.

"Death is inevitable."

"Not that," he retorted. "I meant, you being a better... alchemist than me."

"Wanna bet?"

"You're so on."

They glared at each other, but Winry quickly intervened. She wanted a nice trip to Rush Valley with her friends, no fighting involved. Especially since the two had already had a big fight while they were in Central.

"That's enough, both of you. Stop it."

They both looked away in annoyance.

The four trekked on, expressing their exhaustion with heavy breaths.

"Do you really think she's all the way up there?" Iris questioned, looking at the top of the mountain and using her hand as a visor from the sun.

"Hey, do you think that's her?" Al pointed.

Indeed it was. She was a dark-skinned woman, darker than Iris's Ishvalan skin, with short, tied up hair and camo pants. The stolen watches in her hand glittered in the sunlight.

"No doubt about it!" Ed yelled, using alchemy to create pillars and reach his thief quicker.

"Come here, you rotten pick-pocket!"

She did the exact opposite and bolted.

"Come on guys, let's get her!"

•••

Honestly, during Paninya's capture, Iris didn't help at all. Hell, she was tired and dizzy and just wanted her watch back. They had ended up in Dominic's place, an engineer with a stone-cold demeanor. His personality certainly backed that up.

After knowing that Paninya wore Dominic's automail, Winry was determined to make his apprentice.

"No."

"Wouldn't you like some time to think about it...?"

"No."

Iris patted Winry's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. It probably didn't help much.

There were more residents of the house, including a couple who were close to having a child.

"It's like there's a whole other universe inside you..." They all gathered.

"It is truly amazing, isn't it?"

The pregnant woman had a hard time moving from place to place, but once she sat down she offered her hand to the two brothers who were looking at her stomach in curiosity. They both reluctantly took her hands and she placed theirs on her tummy. The child inside immediately shifted, and Ed and Al looked at each other in absolute astonishment and wonder. Iris smiled kindly at them as she passed.

She headed into the next room where she heard talking. She stepped inside to see Winry and Paninya fiddling with what seemed to be Ed's pocket watch.

"What are you doing?" she asked, coming closer.

"We're trying to open this stupid thing!" the blonde yelled, frustrated.

"Why?"

"We wanna see what's inside it, of course!"

"Here," she put her hand out, "let me see." She inspected it carefully.

"Oh, it's sealed with alchemy."

"Can you open it for us then, Iris?" They urged.

She thought it over, frowning.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, running a finger over the carefully shut alchemic bond. "I could... but don't you think that's a little nosy? I mean, it's obviously like this for a reason..."

"Come on," Paninya whined. "If you can get it open with alchemy, you can get it back to the way it was with alchemy, right?"

"Okay.. fine." She complied.

In a flash of blue light, the watch popped open and Winry snatched it up. Engraved inside was a date.

3 Oct 11

"Don't forget..." Winry whispered, holding the watch to her chest.

"What does it mean?" Paninya wondered.

"N-nothing. It doesn't mean anything."

"Then why-"

Paninya was suddenly interrupted by the door crashing open. Iris took the timekeeper back and quickly hid it behind her back.

It was Ed, and he looked out of breath and mortified. He pointed out the door, speechless.

"What?"

"Th-the... the bay..!"

"The what?"

"The bay!"

"Excuse me?"

"Ed, what are you talking about?!"

An inhale, then, "The baby's coming, the baby's coming!"

Cue screams of horror and four sets of footsteps running down the stairs.