Summer 1926

Ben 7

Lucy 4 (Almost 5)

Sophie 7 months

Kisa 8 months

Anne Marie Mustang 7

Charles Mustang 2

In the heat of the summer, three young families were finding ways to stay cool by playing in a large lake near a house they had rented in Dublith. The Mustangs were need of a vacation with Roy being so busy most of the time. A few weeks off with some fresh air seemed like a good idea. But then Riza told Winry about it, and Winry in turn told Mei, and thus the plotting began to bring the families together. Winry and Mei knew better than to be there for the Mustang's whole vacation but only for a week of it. Now that the babies were a little older, their men would be back to traveling soon with a trip to Central already planned out for the Alchemist Society meeting in September. So the ladies set everything up and then informed their husbands.

Edward scoffed "We're doing what?! Vacationing with them?! For a week?"

"Oh Ed, it'll be fun. The kids haven't seen each other in a long time," Winry told him.

Edward crossed his arms. "Fine. If it makes the kids happy." Winry smiled.

Alphonse was more receptive to the idea. "It'll be Kisa's first train ride. I hope she likes it."

Mei sighed. "I bet she will. Maybe she'll be like us and enjoy traveling. We could go to so many places. I want to show her everything."

The Mustangs had been at the lake house for a week when the Elrics arrived. They settled into their rooms. Al, Mei, and Kisa shared a room. Ed, Winry, and Sophie shared the room across from them. Then all the older kids shared a large room with 2 big beds and a bunk bed.

And the fun began the next day. Alphonse and Mei went down to the lake where the Ed's family and the Mustangs were already there. Alphonse set Kisa in the water next to Sophie and Winry. Kisa had jet black hair like her mother but she had golden eyes like her father. Al and Mei sat in the water next to their daughter and were showing her how to play with toys that Winry had put out for Sophie. Sophie looked like her father with golden hair and eyes.

Winry went to her bag, and Riza came by and saw the baby girls. "Oh Winry, they have matching pink bathing suits."

"Yep! And matching hats too." Winry pulled the hats out of her bag and a camera. She handed the hats to Al and Mei. Winry got the camera ready and told them to put the hats on the girls. She snapped a picture while the girls played with the toys and then almost immediately after the picture, Sophie threw her hat in the water. Sophie looked confused by the hat and scowled at it. Winry sighed. She hoped that picture came out.

Sophie and Kisa laughed and giggled while they played with the toys. But then something caught Sophie's attention.

The older kids played further down the shore so the babies wouldn't get trampled or splashed on. Roy had decided it was time to amp up the water games. He went to the side of lake house and brought down a large bucket with water guns. "Alright kids! Come and get 'em!"

Ben was the first to gasp and ran out of the water. He had on blue swim trunks and dashed to grab the biggest water gun. Anne Marie and Lucy trailed behind him. And then Charles cried because he was left behind. Edward took his hand "Come on Charlie. Let's go get one. I'll make sure you get a good one."

Roy shouted "Not you too! His name is Charles!"

Riza smacked her husband on the head. "Charlie is cute. It fits him." Charlie was very cute with dark hair and brown eyes. Edward snickered at their argument. He made sure to call him Charlie as often as he could within Roy's ears.

The kids all had a water gun along with Edward, Roy, and Riza. Edward wondered if Riza would be just as good with a water gun as her rifle. It didn't take long to find out that she was. And how did she make it sting when she hit Edward in the back?

Edward yelped. The spray hit him just right in his scar. He rubbed it a little bit. Ben looked up at him and for the first time, Ben noticed the jagged round scar. He wondered what it was from. He looked at Roy and Uncle Al, they didn't have scars like that. Then Ben got sprayed by Anne Marie and his train of thought stopped. He started shooting Anne Marie and Lucy who had ganged up on him.

The group stopped in their tracks when they heard a scream from down the shore. Sophie was crying and screaming and reaching for them. Winry picked her up and brought her over to the older kids. She sighed. She knew this was going to happen. Sophie always wanted to be around the older kids. They had more fun and Sophie wasn't mobile yet, and Winry was both looking forward to Sophie walking and dreading it at the same time. Sophie wasn't as mild mannered as her siblings and cousin.

Edward met Winry part of the way. "She didn't like the baby toys as much, huh?" Edward said. He ruffled Sophie's hair and she shook her head in annoyance.

"Nope. She gets this attitude from you, you know?" Winry said.

"Pfft! Look who's talking? This is more like you." Edward said. "ACK!" Edward yelled as he was sprayed in the back.

Ben yelled "Come on Dad!"

Edward yelled "Oh it's on!" He went back to spraying the kids and Roy whenever he could. Sophie laughed as she watched the older kids and adults play. Winry smiled as she held Sophie. 'This isn't so bad,' Winry thought. The kids were having fun. The baby was happily watching.

And then it happened. Sophie got sprayed on accident. She was silent because she was stunned and then she wailed. Winry groaned. She put Sophie on her shoulder and left the water patting her on the back. Edward followed. "Wait up Win." Winry turned and Sophie turned her head and reached out to her father. Sophie loved her father. Edward took her from Winry, and Sophie cried on Edward's shoulder. "I got her Winry."

"Thanks Ed." Winry was happy to give the crying baby to her husband.

Edward took her to a lounge chair under an umbrella. "Hey Sophie, it's okay. It was just some water." Sophie had calmed down to sniffling. She rubbed her eyes. "Oh I see what it is. You tired? Here let's rest some." Edward took a towel and wrapped it around Sophie and laid back in the lounge chair laying her on him. He patted her back until she was asleep on his chest. He watched the others play in the water until his eyelids felt heavy too.

After a while, Winry and Riza got out of the water. It was time for lunch. They saw the sweet scene under the umbrella. Winry got a towel and covered up Edward. "No wonder he's tired. It was his turn to get up this morning with her."

"What time does she get up?"

"Five am."

"Ouch." Riza winced. That was early.

"Yeah, she's definitely the worst sleeper we've had so far. And she still wakes up once at night." Winry groaned. It was her turn to get up with the baby tomorrow.

"Have you tried letting her cry it out?"

"Yep, it doesn't work on her. She cried for almost an hour and I gave up." Riza sympathized with her friend.

"I'm sure it'll get better."

"It has. That's the sad part. She used to get up twice a night." Winry groaned as they walked into the kitchen to start making sandwiches. Mei joined them and Alphonse took Kisa upstairs to put her down for a nap.

They talked about their lives and how much having children changed everything in their relationships. Edward and Winry were so tired that their love life had pretty much tanked since Sophie was born. Al and Mei were back to having some romance in their lives. Roy had so much work that he wasn't home often so this vacation meant a lot to them. And Roy was going to make some more time for his family because they were a priority.

Lunch was served and Edward woke up to the sound of food being served on a picnic table outside. Winry watched as Edward gingerly got up while trying not to wake Sophie. It was entertaining. She quieted the others until Edward made it inside with the sleeping infant. He set her down and tiptoed out of the room to his lunch downstairs. Winry gave him a plate with a sandwich and chips on it. "Here's your plate. You're quite talented in keeping the baby asleep." Winry giggled.

Edward was proud. He had accomplished his mission. "Yeah. Now if only we could get her to sleep in some more." They both sighed as they thought about sleeping.

The day passed with more water games until dinner had to be cooked. The men were in charge of dinner, and Winry decided to bake a cake which Anne Marie and Lucy were happy to help. Charlie was playing with his toy cars, and Riza had Sophie and Mei had Kisa on the floor playing with baby toys. Ben was bored so he went outside where the dads were. He walked out as the men had opened their beer bottles and toasted with them. Then Roy lit the grill with his flame alchemy. Ben watched the flames and was mesmerized. He sat at the picnic table watching them. They talked about their upcoming trip to Central for the Alchemist Society meeting and doing another research trip. Roy couldn't go on the trip. "I've been working a lot lately and the kids grow more every time I see them. After this vacation, I want to spend more time with them."

Edward and Alphonse were surprised about this. Roy wasn't usually this up front with family matters. Alphonse being more in tuned with emotions spoke first. "Well I think that's great to have that goal. We haven't traveled recently because we both felt bad leaving the kids at home. I mean, Ed has three now!"

Edward scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I don't like leaving Winry with all three, especially with the way Sophie is. She's been a handful compared to the other two."

Roy chuckled. "That little girl is something else. She even has your scowl Fullmetal."

"Don't call me that! And so what? I can't help that my genes are so strong that she looks like me." Edward was proud that his daughter looked so much like him. "Back to the point, I don't like leaving Winry but I need more grants for the research that we're doing. We need to keep the society going on a good path. So I have to go to Central in September. We have a sitter that helps out but it's not the same." Edward was thinking and then he noticed Ben at the table. "Oh Ben, what are you doing out here? Why aren't you playing with the other kids?"

Ben looked down at the ground. Edward walked over and sat with him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm just bored. The girls are baking a cake."

Edward got it. The kids closer to his age were doing something he didn't like, Charlie was still pretty young, and the babies were babies.

"I see. So you are getting too old to be doing some of that stuff, huh? Well okay then. Let's see what can we do. I got it. Let's go fishing tomorrow morning. Just me and you. Some man to man time. How does that sound?" Edward smiled hoping he had his son hooked.

Ben's widened in glee. "You mean it?! Just the two of us!"

"Yep. I think it's time we spend some more time together. As for right now, you can hang out with us guys out here. Come on." Edward nodded towards Alphonse and Roy at the grill.

Ben nodded and went over with Edward to join the men's conversation. They talked about fishing, and Roy told them there were poles in the shed they could use but they would have to get their own bait. They exchanged stories about fishing. Edward and Alphonse also told them about their training on the tiny island out there.

Alphonse spoke after the story "And speaking of our teacher, she and Sig should be here soon. They're bringing some side dishes to go with dinner."

"Mimi and Papa Sig are coming?! Alright!" Ben yelled. Papa Sig was his favorite person. Ben was happy to have any male in his life right now since he was surrounded by girls.

The next day, Winry was up with the baby in the living room when she heard Edward and Ben come downstairs. They were heading out to go fishing. She kissed her husband and Sophie almost cried but Winry distracted her with a bottle. Edward and Ben got the bait they had bought last night and got their poles and headed down to the shore. They walked a little ways from the lake house until they reached a dock. Edward showed him how to put the bait on. Ben squirmed as he watched his dad put the hook on the worm. Edward had him put one on. The boy had to toughen up a little bit.

Edward and Ben sat and watched the water. Then Ben remembered something from yesterday. The scar on his dad's back. Ben looked at his dad's back and touched the scar. Edward flinched which caused Ben to jump back. "Sorry Ben. I just wasn't expecting that."

"Did that hurt?"

"No, it's just sensitive." Parts of the scar were tough but other parts were sensitive to touch.

"I'm sorry." Ben apologized.

"No, don't be. It didn't hurt." Edward saw he felt guilty and he was trying to help his son feel better.

"Dad? What happened?" Ben asked.

Edward knew that they would ask about his many scars. This one in particular was a terrible story. He winced as he thought of the pole being pulled out.

"Well, long story short. I was in the military at a very young age. And I was in a fight with someone."

"A bad guy?" Ben asked.

"I guess you could say that. But we were fighting in an old mine shaft and it collapsed. And that's when a pole in the shaft penetrated my back. See? Here's where it went through on my stomach." Edward lifted his shirt and showed Ben. Ben was mesmerized. A pole went through him.

"And fortunately there were two people there that helped me get to a doctor so I could get better." He intentionally left the part about healing himself out of that.

"So you were a soldier?"

"Yep. That's how I know Mustang. He was my commanding officer. Back then, he was a colonel."

"Oh. So what does fullmetal mean? He called you that yesterday."

Edward was surprised. Ben was a smart kid and observed and listened well. "Fullmetal was my military codename. I was the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"So you were an alchemist? But I've only seen Uncle Al and the General do it."

Edward interrupted him. "I don't practice alchemy anymore. I can't. I had to give it up to get something more incredible."

"Huh? What's more incredible?"

"That's another story for when you're older." Edward said. He wasn't ready to tell Ben everything yet.

"Awww Dad! It was just getting good."

Edward smiled warmly at his son. "You got a lot of information this morning. Just don't tell your sister yet. This was man to man talk, okay? So just between us men. Now let's be quiet. We're scaring the fish off." They waited and waited until Ben felt his pole twitch. Edward set his down and got behind him. Then they pulled it up.

They walked back to the lake house with a fish in their bucket. Edward started telling him a few stories of when he was an alchemist. Ben was excited to learn that his father was incredible. And if Ben was good, he could get more stories at bedtime when the girls were asleep.