September 13th, 1991

Despite being declared broken bone and concussion free, Edward was dizzy and nauseated the next morning, and remained in bed, mostly sleeping. Despite not sleeping much the night before, Winry insisted on tending to him. Normally, or at least in the past, Edward taking a single punch to the face would not have concerned her. The fact that he had fallen and knocked his head was much more worrisome. Edward's lack of his usual rebound bothered her even more. There was no insistence that he was fine, that it was nothing. He was not demanding to get out of bed, or even hungry.

Ethan looked him over again, but found nothing additional wrong. Lacking any objections from Edward, he had healed the worst of the bruising. Even Edward's deeply blackened eye, which had been swelling horribly when Franz carried him in last night, was nothing more than a slightly darkened ring of mottled yellow that looked as if it had been healing for weeks. "I don't know what else to do, Mom," Ethan admitted, looking frustrated. "There's nothing else medically wrong, except that he's exhausted and a bit rattled. I think all we can do, the best thing, is to just let him sleep."

Winry nodded in agreement. "He just needs rest, and time. I still can't believe Franz punched him." She had no trouble believing they had argued. She and Alphonse had seen it coming for months. Edward had certainly argued with Franz and Sara enough over the phone right after the bombings that had been instrumental in ending the civil war in Drachma, but it was different what someone said on the phone instead of in person. The fact that the division had lasted this long had concerned her for months, but it had come to a head in ways she hadn't expected.

Winry needed to find out why everyone hadn't just heard each other out, apologized, and made up. After Ethan left the room, and Winry was certain that Edward was comfortable, she went downstairs looking for her daughter.

Overnight, an autumn thunderstorm had rolled in off the mountains, and downstairs was quiet except for the sound of pouring rain and occasional thunder. With the high ceiling and windows, the natural light in the room had that softened, blue-gray rain feeling. No one seemed to have bothered with turning on any lights, since there was still enough to see by.

The house was also unnaturally quiet for a building currently housing ten people. As she stepped down into the living room, Winry wondered how many of them were actually home. That was when she spotted Sara sitting on the sofa, holding a cup of coffee. Given the cup was no longer steaming, it must have gone cold.

"Where is everyone?" Winry asked as she crossed the room.

Sara looked up and over her shoulder, her eyes following Winry as she came around the furniture. "Out, mostly. Aldon called right after breakfast. The storm came up unexpectedly and they wanted some help down at the fairgrounds getting some weather coverings up over some of the stalls that hadn't brought them or put them up yet. Uncle Al and Aunt Elicia ran out, and took Lia, Franz, Alyse, and even Cal with them."

"Franz went?"

"He wanted to make amends for last night, I think." Sara sighed, and sipped from her mug. "Or maybe he's just afraid to face you and Dad. He feels terrible about losing his temper."

"Well. Your father can be infuriating." Winry sighed, and sat down next to Sara. "He's still upset about your decision to keep us in the dark about the plan."

For the first time since she had come back from Drachma that Winry had seen, Sara had the pained look of an anxious daughter. The open, sad expression of someone allowing herself to deeply feel simple, raw emotions. For a moment, Sara looked much younger. "I knew he'd be angry, Mom, when we made the decision not to tell you all what we were going to do, but I didn't think he'd feel personally betrayed, or that I'd hurt his feelings. It wasn't a family decision; it was a military decision. Do you and Uncle Al feel the same way?"

Winry had expected this question. Sara had asked a version of it before, on the phone, months ago. "At first, I was upset. I understand your reasons, and agree with them or not, it wasn't my call to make. I'm an engineer; not an alchemist, not a military officer. International affairs have always been messy, especially with Drachma. I mean, you were born in the middle of a fight at the Drachman border." A day that Winry would remember vividly for all of her life.

Sara nodded. "You've told me. You'll forgive me if I don't remember it personally."

A joke, if a small one. Winry smiled. "All I'm saying is, I know you did what you thought was right. Sometimes we don't have the luxury of thinking about people's personal feelings. It hurt, but I know you were trying to protect us by keeping us out of it as much as you were protecting the mission. Maybe it was the only and best option. That's not my place to say. It worked out in the end, as far as the result the world needed, so maybe that's enough. I won't speak for Alphonse, but I expect you will get a similar answer if you ask him."

"So, it's just Dad who's furious with me… us. I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Sara sounded slightly bitter.

"Your father feels very responsible for the fact that information about manned motorized air flight and rockets like the ones we have now originally came here because he studied them. He's spent most of his life keeping that information hushed up because he and Roy Mustang decided that as much war and damage as our world already had, they were technology that would almost certainly be weaponized, and that would lead—may still lead—to disastrous consequences." None of that, in itself, should be new information for her daughter. "When we agreed to help you, it was with the understanding that their use would be defensive, and while none of us are idealistic idiots, I don't think any of us imagined you would use them for such a decisively offensive strike deep over international lines. In the, well "old days" there's a good chance you'd both be in prison now or, more likely, assassinated. Someone would have seen to it that Franz didn't last long enough to step down, or they'd have pushed harder, and then maybe taken him out anyway."

"Good thing this isn't the old days then. Though I'm a little surprised no one has tried to off us yet," Sara admitted. "It's still a common tactic in Drachma. Or it was, until a few months ago."

"I was a little impressed they let you both come here without a security detail," Winry admitted.

At that, Sara did crack a small smile. "I am the security detail. Besides, no one in their right mind would be foolish enough to attack this house, or anywhere in Resembool. Not now. Even if they made it out alive, the retribution would be massive."

Though it would be much easier now than it would have been a few years ago. Winry thought of Edward, unconscious upstairs after taking what should have been a very small fall. He hadn't dodged the blow, he hadn't leaped out of the way, or caught himself in a simple tumble. Certainly, he had been caught off guard, because no one would have ever expected Franz to bring it to blows, but even as fit as Edward kept himself, there was no denying that they were all, really, quite old and fortunate to still be in good health.

"Mom. How do I fix this?" Sara finally asked outright. "What does Dad want from me? I can't say we did the wrong thing, because I still honestly believe that it was the right thing, and the only effective course of action we had. It went precisely as planned, at least through the mission itself. It had even better long-term effects than anticipated. I'm not sorry we did it. Not in the least."

"I don't think he expects that, to be honest." Winry sat back a little, thinking. "Just apologize for lying to him. He feels betrayed because you didn't trust him to even accept your decision. If you were going to do it anyway it wasn't as if you needed his agreement. You could have found other people to do those jobs. We were convenient, but not absolutely essential."

"We didn't trust anyone else with the work."

"Precisely. But you put him in the type of situation he hates most, and he trusted you not to violate his own wishes and values based on what you told him. He's not stupid, and he hasn't gone senile. For all the things your father has been willing to do over the years, breaking the rules time and time again to get the right thing done, he has a weirdly strict and specific code of ethics all his own. Not betraying family and friends for the sake of politics is one of them."

"I never expected him to like it, and I thought I was prepared for him to hate me for it. Turns out… I'm not as hardened as I thought I was."

Winry reached out her arm, and gave her daughter a squeeze around her shoulders. "Which is something your father really needs to know. He loves you so much. If he didn't, this wouldn't have hurt him as much as it has. He's afraid that his girl has turned into someone else entirely; someone he doesn't know. It scares him, I think. Not that he'd ever put it that way."

Sara nodded slowly. "I can do that, at least. Will it help if Franz apologizes as well?"

"It might be a start." Winry's expression stiffened a little. She had wanted very much to shout at everyone last night, Edward included, but had refrained because it would serve no useful purpose. "I'm not sure an apology will be enough from Franz, at this point. I'm certain your father probably said some things he also needs to apologize for as well. Do you have any idea exactly what caused Franz to hit him last night?"

"He didn't want to discuss it, and I'll admit I wasn't much in a frame of mind to have a conversation about it." Sara sighed heavily. "I'm guessing that if they got into it about the same thing Dad and I argued about it might just not have taken much to get them both riled up to that extent. If he hadn't fallen, do you think Dad would have hit him back?"

"Possibly." Winry had never imagined this conflict coming to blows, though given the people involved, shouting had probably been inevitable. "We'll have to ask them both when they're sensible enough."

"Has Dad said anything at all?"

Winry shook her head. "He was out hard all night. This morning he woke up when Ethan examined him, but he didn't say a word. I don't get the feeling that he's sulking, but I'm concerned at how quiet he's been."

Sara finished her coffee. "Well, if he's sleeping, there's no reason for me to hang around here. I think I'll go see if there's any way that I can be useful. Do you need anything from town?"

"We're almost out of coffee," Winry said after a moment's thought. "You might want to pick up more. Get whatever you all like most. You know your father, he'll drink anything."

"Sure. I can do that." Sara leaned in for a quick hug before standing up. "Thanks, Mom. I'm really sorry things exploded all over this family get together. I was really hoping we'd all just have a nice time."

"Me too," Winry agreed as Sara left. Me too.

It was mid-day before everything at the fairgrounds was back in order. Not that anything had been destroyed, but the storm had caught a lot of people coming in and setting up from out of town off guard. The forecast hadn't called for rain for at least another few days, if at all, and while weather prediction was a highly complicated science, usually if a storm was coming in there was a little more warning.

Thankfully it wasn't severe, and by the time they were done putting additional tarps over stalls, or new ones where none had been, and hammering down signs that had tried to blow away in the unexpected gusting winds, the rain had settled to nothing but a steady, drenching downpour.

"It's a good thing the farmers already had the crops in last week," Ollie commented to Aldon as they stood under the large roof of the open-ended animal barns, dripping wet even in raincoats. "Or the grain would all be ruined."

Aldon nodded. "And it's a good thing we had the canvas hangings up over the seats for the new stage already. If nothing else, we've tested that they actually keep people sitting underneath reasonably dry."

"As long as they don't plan to sit under there for several hours in a downpour," Ollie agreed with a chuckle. "With all that help it doesn't look like anything irreplaceable was damaged. Though a few vendors are going to be wiping down merchandise for the rest of the day."

"It definitely could have been worse," Aldon agreed. He was very grateful that his family had come running with a couple of phone calls, and the inevitable phone-tree had brought nearly fifty people to take care of things and help clean up. It was only a minor set-back, and everything would be ready for the start of festival in a few days. He had seen the new mayor running all over the place as well—that was who had called him with the request to put out the call—and was glad he was no longer in charge.

Though it had concerned him that neither of his parents had come. This kind of thing was right up his father's alley. Lia had only told him that Edward wasn't feeling well, which Aldon took to presume meant that the sudden onset of the weather was hurting him in his ports.

He turned around to look at his team. "Well, it looks like we're done, at least for now. Thank you so much for coming out to help on short notice."

As they scattered, he turned to the few family members there. "If anyone wants to reconvene at my house, I think we've got enough food to feed everyone sandwiches. Though I won't be offended if you'd rather have something hot." There were a few nods, and some no thanks. Aldon looked at Ollie. "How about you?"

"Sure. Kit's on shift at the hospital so there's nothing waiting for me at home besides more cold food anyway. Let's go."

Cal was about to follow Alyse when he noticed Franz, who continued to stand there as the others began to scatter for food and dry clothes. The other man was staring out at the rain. Cal could imagine what might be running through his head at the moment, even if he still didn't know all the details of the night before. He was probably wondering if it was safe to go back yet. "I'll catch up later," he promised Alyse quietly, nodding in Franz' direction. She followed his line of sight, and immediate understanding dawned on her face.

"See you later." She kissed his cheek, and followed the others.

Using the convenience of his new motorized transportation, Cal turned himself around and rolled up next to Franz. "So, lunch? I know a place in town just a few minutes from here on foot. Decent food. Right atmosphere for a day like today. Strong drinks."

Franz looked at him. "Yeah. That sounds good."

Together they made their way back across the festival grounds, and up the main street into the central shopping district of Resembool. While its growth had slowed after a couple of small population explosions, it had almost four blocks of shops and restaurants now in the old center of town near the town hall and community building. That was where most of the restaurants and bars were. Cal led his way into the one that, so far, had been his favorite.

They took a table in a back corner. Cal would have preferred the bar, but he had acknowledged that there was no way yet to get his chair to bar stool height, and he suspected Winry might laugh at him if he suggested some kind of hydraulic lift that would do it for that specific purpose.

"Know what you want?" Cal asked after several minutes of looking over the menu.

Franz nodded, and they waved over the waiter. Cal ordered a steak sandwich, potatoes, and a beer. Franz ordered the sausage and potatoes. "Casa Limon please."

Cal eyed him, but did not question Franz's choice of Aerugean tequila.

He did not try to press or even start conversation. Franz would talk when he wanted to, or he might not. The least Cal could do was be there as company and a willing ear if Franz wanted to use them.

So it was that nothing much happened until after their food was served and their drinks arrived. Franz nodded when the bartender came over and served the tequila himself instead of leaving that to a server. They ate most of their food in relative silence, and Franz had finished his drink, and ordered a second, before he said anything.

"I screwed up."

"Well, if we're being honest, you're not the first person who's wanted, or tried, to slug Fullmetal in the face," Cal replied with a casual shrug. "But yeah, that seems like a fair assessment. He must have really wound you up."

"It was a heated discussion," Franz acknowledged in what was clearly understatement. "We both lost our tempers. It got pretty insulting. I just… lost control for a minute. It's been a long time since I've done that."

"We all have limits." Cal nodded, as Franz took down his second drink. "Speaking of which, don't get too soused. I can't exactly carry you home, and Sara would probably castrate us both."

"Not planning on it," Franz assured him, though his expression was not convincing. He fell silent again for several minutes.

"Any idea how you're going to smooth this whole thing over?" Cal asked cautiously.

If anything, Franz's expression soured further, his frustration evident. "I need to talk to Sara. Then… apologize for knocking him out. But that won't solve the original disagreement."

"You could just let him be right," Cal suggested, though he didn't expect it to be taken seriously. Hell, he wasn't sure he had ever done anything to save an old man a little pride in his life. When he was younger, he would rather have died than done so for his old man. Though his father-in-law was nothing like his father, and that was a different kind of relationship. "Would it hurt anything?"

"He wouldn't believe me," Franz replied. "I don't think there's anything I could say, or Sara could say, that would convince him we had somehow changed our minds and agreed with him. Even if I was willing to lie, but you know he'd sense it. Then he'd be mad that we tried to appease him."

"So, you think he's wrong."

"I think it's over and done and right or wrong on an issue that succeeded is irrelevant." Franz sipped his drink. "He's welcome to have his opinions, but that's all they are. It's over. Let it go."

"This is Fullmetal you're talking about."

"That is exactly the problem." Franz upended the rest of his glass.

Sara had arrived at the festival grounds when most of the work was done, and had been immediately hijacked by a team to help put back up a couple of fallen pavilions. When it was finished, she found that most of the other teams had already split up to head home and get out of the rain. Asking a couple of questions had led her back to Aldon's house, where she had been told most everyone in the family had been seen heading for lunch. On arriving, she had discovered that Franz was not there. Alyse was, and that was the only reason Sara knew that Franz had gone off somewhere with Cal, presumably for lunch.

"I think he was going to try to talk to him," Alyse said softly under the general noise of conversation in Aldon's living room. "Knowing Cal, they're probably eating in a pub somewhere."

A logical presumption. Though Sara had to admit a homey pub with filling food on a day like this one didn't sound bad at all. She stayed long enough to eat a sandwich, then headed back out into the rain. Done or not, she still needed to pick up coffee as she had promised. Besides which, it might give her a chance to just… see where Franz and Cal had decided to eat. She wanted to talk to Franz, but maybe giving him a chance to talk through his feelings with someone else who might be more sympathetic first was the wisest course of action.

Sara started at the grocers, pleased to see that as the town had grown, so had the selection. There were more than three options for coffee now, and there were a few that she knew she and Franz liked, and Ethan and Lia did too. As they all had fairly similar tastes to her parents, she picked up a couple of different blends, and some additional cream, and then headed back out into the rainy afternoon.

Fully admitting to herself that she was being nosy as well as concerned, she took the route back that allowed her to pause by the windows of most of the little cafes and bars and just glance in to see if she might see Franz and Cal anywhere. They should be fairly easy to locate, and it really only took a couple of stops before she found herself outside Aldon's favorite haunt. Through the window, she could see Franz and Cal sitting at a table all the way at the back, nearest the bar. They seemed to be talking.

As she watched, Franz picked up his glass and took the rest down in a single swig.

She couldn't see what he was drinking, but her heart sank. Franz never drank anything non-alcoholic like that. He only did that when was seriously drinking… something he did very rarely.

Now was not the time to interrupt. Sara immediately picked up her pace again, walking towards the edge of town, and then turning at the corner by the festival grounds, and heading back towards the house before she did something that she knew she would regret later. Like barge into the restaurant and scold her husband for drinking he wasn't supposed to be doing, per his doctor's orders. She wanted to trust that Cal would make sure Franz didn't take things too far.

Which might be a foolish wish, but it was all she had at the moment. It had been decades since Sara had been given any reason to be concerned about the stability of relationships in her family. Franz and her father had only butted heads a little, even in the beginning. It had not been difficult to get Edward to approve of, and even like, Franz. Not that Sara had given him much choice, but she had appreciated the lack of antagonism between them over the years. Upon her rescue from Drachma, she had been pleased that her family loved her husband enough to keep treating him just as closely as if she had never been reported dead.

Having two of the people she cared for most deeply at odds—and being at some odds with both of them—was a pain she had never anticipated experiencing again. It also made her feel like she was back in her twenties, and not in a way that she liked.

Sara couldn't pretend she didn't understand why Franz was drinking at two in the afternoon.

By the time she got back to her parents' place, she was soaked through to the bone, and the rest of the family had returned from Aldon's house. She could hear people moving around upstairs and down, but no one was in the living room. She put the coffee in the kitchen, and the creamer in the refrigerator, then went upstairs. Thankfully, one of the bathrooms was unoccupied. She claimed it long enough to take a hot shower, and leech the chill out of her body before getting into dry clothes. It took a while to thoroughly towel dry her hair enough that it wouldn't leave wet splotches everywhere, and then she left it down and loose to dry the rest of the way.

When she returned to the main level her mother was in the kitchen, and the smell of the percolator told Sara that the coffee had already been located.

"Thank you," Winry smiled. "This should last us at least the length of your visit."

Sara nodded. "You're welcome, Mom. How's Dad?"

"He woke up over lunch, had some soup. He's asleep again now, I think."

Sara sighed. She had been hoping he was up for visitors. "Did he say anything about last night?"

Winry shook her head. "He hasn't said much of anything except to say he doesn't want to discuss it. Given how he's been feeling I didn't want to press the issue yet. The weather."

Sara nodded. This storm must be causing her father immense pain, on top of last night's events. "I heard the storm is supposed to pass by tomorrow."

"I hope so." Her mother had pulled down cups for three. "Do you want some, too?" She asked. "I was taking some up to Alphonse and Elicia."

"Yes, please." Sara had a feeling she was going to need it.

Franz appreciated the company, even if Cal didn't have the solution to the mess that he was in either. At least he didn't seem to be mad about it, or particularly inclined to judge Franz's actions too harshly. Or if he did, he didn't say anything. Being Cal, however, that probably meant that he wasn't saying anything he didn't mean, or hiding any ulterior motives. As the rain continued to fall more heavily, and the streets became a solid puddle except where the hills turned them into streams, Franz and Cal remained at the pub for most of the afternoon.

They could have called a cab, but the warmth and the fact that no one in the mostly empty pub even recognized him was a nice change. Not having Sara look askance at his meal choices was a bonus as well. He did not remember her being as involved in or concerned about his dietary habits before her kidnapping, but ever since his heart attack, she had been on him constantly about taking care of himself. It had been understandable at first, but even though his health had improved again, she did not seem to have relaxed about it much.

A single day of indulgence was not going to kill him, and he felt no guilt eating his sausage and potatoes, and later in the day he and Cal split an additional snack of deep-fried mushrooms. The pub kept a variety of old strategy games, and when Franz could think of nothing more to say on the subject of his incident with Edward, they fell into companionable silence, and gamed instead.

Eventually, they did need to head back. Not that the owner would have kicked them out since they were paying customers, but if they didn't get back eventually, they would have to add worried Alyse to the list of people upset in the house today, and that seemed like an unwise idea. So, they bundled up against the storm, and—with Franz pushing this time—they headed back out across town and the intervening countryside. It was a long, slow slog, as the roads that far out were still almost entirely dirt, and even with motor assist, the wheelchair could only get through so much without Franz pushing.

"Next time, we wait for the taxi," Cal shouted over the storm about half way back.

"Agreed," Franz gasped, though if nothing else, maybe the walk would be good for sobering him up a little before he got home.

It was nearly time for dinner when Cal and Franz arrived at the hill house and made the last hundred meters or so up the hill to the porch, both soaked and muddy.

Alyse had clearly been waiting for them. The door jerked open and she almost pounced on them as she appeared on the porch. "Why the hell didn't you call for a ride?" she gasped as she took in the sight of them.

Franz wasn't sure he had a response, but Cal seemed unbothered as he chuckled. "We just needed the fresh air."

Alyse pursed her lips. "Well, it looks like you got plenty of fresh water, too. Don't you dare track all that mud into the house. Wait out here while I bring down some towels, unless you want to rinse off using the hose first."

"We'll wait." Franz wasn't inclined to get any wetter.

It only took Alyse a minute to return with towels. She still made them remove their filthy coats, and shoes, and wipe off the wheels of the chair before she let them come inside. She was still tutting concernedly over Cal, when Franz took an unused towel and wiped up the floor behind them.

Alyse vanished into the downstairs bedroom with Cal, leaving Franz alone in the hallway. He collected the towels and took them to the laundry room, before moving out into the living area.

For a moment, Franz had hoped that it might be empty, but his hopes were in vain. Sara and Ethan were sitting at the dining table, chatting over hot drinks. Alphonse was in the kitchen stirring something in a pot on the stove. With Edward apparently still upstairs, that left only Lia and Elicia unaccounted for.

There was an awkward moment, when he stood there, that most everyone of the room took notice of him, and he thought he was going to have to come up with something to say, when he had no idea what he wanted to say, but it passed, and everyone went back to what they were doing, even Sara, though she shot him a look that said she definitely had something she wanted to say to him.

She caught up with him as he was getting dressed after a hot shower. Franz did not pause in his dressing as she entered the room, but continued buttoning up his shirt.

"Good afternoon?" Sara asked, in a tone that was almost too casual.

"Yeah," he replied. "We hung out, played a few games, talked. The walk back was pretty miserable, but I've slogged through worse." Maybe only out on campaign during war times, but it was at least a true statement. "You?"

"It's been okay. Haven't done much. Talking, hanging out, watched a little television. With all the rain most of the remaining plans and preparations for the festival are on hold until tomorrow." Sara leaned against the door jamb, watching him. "I still haven't had a chance to talk to Dad."

Franz froze on the last button. "Is he alright?"

Sara shrugged. "Ethan says he's fine, at least as far as what happened last night. No concussion. No breaks or sprains. He even healed the black eye, but according to Mom he's dizzy, nauseated, and tired. It's probably the weather, too, but I'm worried."

"He could just be avoiding us," Franz suggested. The moment it came out of his mouth he knew he had said the wrong thing.

Sara scowled at him. "You think he's faking being sick?"

Franz shook his head. "No. Sorry. I'm just—"

"Drunk?"

"—frustrated." Franz blinked, and looked at her. She knew, or at least, she assumed. For a moment he felt anger that her mind would immediately go there. Except that you did spend an entire afternoon in a bar, his conscious bugged him. "And a little inebriated… maybe… still," he acknowledged, waiting for the tongue lashing.

Disappointment covered Sara's features, but the scolding never came. "When Dad wakes up, I'm going to apologize. None of this is worth the agony of knowing I hurt my father. Do whatever you think is right."

"I will," Franz replied, though he still wasn't entirely sure he knew what the right thing was, given there was no way he could lie to Edward and be believed, also because it would not be the best thing. Saying nothing would also serve no purpose. Apologizing for losing his temper and smacking him was still the only place he had to start, so that was all he was going to be able to do for now.

That was, assuming Edward would speak to him.

Author's note 10/9/22: I would like to take a moment, and a few lines, to thank those of you who have so kindly left messages in Review on the new chapters! It is heartening and much appreciated to know that folks are still reading and enjoying this on-going labor of love, that I have been posting for over thirteen years. As the reviews were left as 'Guests' I cannot, alas, respond to you privately, so please accept my thanks for the comments here!