Authoress's Notes: So. Fourth chapter already. Whee. That's exciting. I appreciate all those of you who left comments. Thanks. I'm glad you like it, and thanks for reading. By the way, I don't own any of the characters. They're all from the series. Thanks.

One Moment in Time

Chapter Four

Shinkono Kokoro

Ed yawned and looked out the window blearily. It was still dark. Good. He threw his feet over the side of the bed and began moving silently about the room, putting his clothes on. Everything else was already packed into the small suitcase that held all of his worldly possessions. He slipped his coat on, hoisted the suitcase, shoes in his hand, and tip-toed out of the room and down the stairs to the door, pulling the note he'd prepared last night before he went to bed out of his pocket, setting it carefully on the table. Ed didn't want to say good-bye. It would be a pain. Winry would cry and he'd feel bad about leaving so early. After all, he wanted to spend more time with them, but he had to find Al. He had to find his brother, and he knew that Winry was going to demand on going with. He didn't want to say good-bye. He didn't want to say the words.

Looking around one last time, Ed slipped out the door, putting his shoes on, walking down the familiar roads to the train station, hoping to get out of town before the others woke. He paused once at the crest of the hill, looking at the Rockbell's house, his gaze slowly shifting passed the house to where his house had stood, where there were green things growing. Plants. Smiling to himself, Ed turned and walked to the train station to wait for the train to pull in.

Finding an empty seat, Ed slid his suitcase into the seat and then sat, crossing his arms over his chest, looking out the window. He hadn't had to wait very long for the train. The sun hovered just over the horizon line as the train pulled out of the station. He knew Winry would probably be up, eager to see him off. Pinako would be up as well, just because she got up early. Dominique might sleep in, but Winry probably woke her up, eager to run into his room and wake him. Except she wouldn't find him there. His bed would be fixed and none of his belongings would be there. Dominique would stand by the door as Winry's eyes grew round and shocked. She would turn and stumble passed the other girl and then run down the stairs passed the kitchen and to the door. The door would be locked again, but there would be no Ed in the house. Winry would rush around and then finally notice the note that lay on the table in his scrawl. And she would pick it up and then read it, sob and probably cry, the note falling to the ground where Dominique would pick it up and read it. She would hug Winry and console her and convince her not to come after him. Pinako would probably be there in the background, watching silently, knowing that this was the way it would have happened. She'd walk in and start preparing breakfast for the three of them, Winry silent and sullen at the table.

Turning from the window, Ed shifted to get more comfortable, feeling bad that Winry would probably cry upon finding him gone, but knowing that there wasn't much he could do about it, he stopped thinking about it. He'd send word once he reached Al and Izumi. Then. Then he would send word.

Ed yawned, eyes sliding shut. He stared at the seat opposite from him. He'd been up nearly all night… Yes. They'd played some game that Winry invented. It had been fun. Winry was rather creative. So they'd played for most of the night, laughing, behaving as if they were kids again. He yawned again and then stretched his feet out to get more comfortable to take a short nap until he got there.

Ed's eyes fluttered open, slowly shifting from sleeping to wakefulness. He swiveled his head to look out the window. The surroundings were vaguely familiar. He must be near. Ed yawned and sat up, stretching his arms above his head. The train was nearly empty, he noticed as he looked around. Pulling a package out of his pocket, he munched on one of the rolls that he had stuck there before he's left he Rockbell's, watching the scenery passing by. Ed grabbed his bag and headed to the nearest exit door as the train pulled into the station. His stomach fluttered a little nervously, having not seen Izumi nor his brother, especially his brother, in a long time. It was only two years, but it had seemed to him that it had been near forever.

The train halted and the doors opened. Ed got off, standing in the late-afternoon sun for a moment before heading towards Izumi's house. It was a nice day, he decided, walking slowly to allow himself some time, gathering his thoughts. Absently wondering, Ed glanced at the houses, wondering if Izumi had changed hers at all. He shrugged figuring that he would know it when he got there.

He walked down the road, pausing once only to ask for directions to be sure that he knew where he was going. He was going the right way. Ed stood in front of the house. He was here. Straightening himself, he opened the gate and walked up to the front door, forcing his hand to knock. It was just Izumi and his brother after all. No one answered.

"Hello?" He knocked again. Ed frowned. "Hello! Izumi! Al! Alphonse!" Still no one answered. "Hello! Is anyone there?" He tried the handle. It was locked. This was a stupid trick, if it were a trick. And if not, well, then fate had a hand against him, causing them to be out. He sighed and then walked over to one of the windows. Peering in, the lights were off and no one seemed to be in there. He groaned. "Great. Wonderful! Just my luck." He set his bag down and then looked around for an audience. Luckily, there was none. He tugged at the window, pushing it open. Tossing his bag in first, Ed clambered through the window in a not-so-graceful fashion. "It's never easy..." He complained as he dusted himself off, picked up his bag and then wandered through the house, exploring. He'd come in through the kitchen. It was definitely Izumi's kitchen. It was neat. He left his bag near the door.

Ed moved into the hallway, passing by a room that he suspected that was Izumi's and her husband's. He passed the bathroom and there was a sitting room as well. The last room Ed found was a child's room. Well, at least a young boy. He walked in slowly, his hand running along the dresser. It was simple. There was a bookcase in the corner and a bed and the dresser. The bookcase held books about Alchemy, the bed was neat and tidy (no doubt a requirement of Izumi), and everything was neat. A smile came to his lips. It was Al's room. "Al..." He whispered, pulling one of the books out of the bookcase. He flipped it open, reading through some of the passages. He knew all of this. But some of what his people knew was not entirely true. He'd only learned himself because of the gate and the ordeal of the Homonculus. He suppressed the shudder and put the book back. Equivilent exchanges... It didn't work quite how everyone seemed to think it did. But that was no matter. Ed went back to the sitting room. There was another bookcase here. Pictures as well, he discovered. Picking up one of the frames, he looked at it. Al was older now.

"HEY!" A voice shouted.
Ed whirled, a figure tackling him to the ground as he saw a flash of alchemical light and found himself caught in a wooden hand. He shook his head to clear it and found himself looking into the eyes of his brother, Izumi staring behind him, hands still clapped together, her husband behind her. "Um... Hi?"

Al's eyes widened. "N-nii-san!"

"Ed?" Izumi echoed.

Ed grinned sheepishly and waggled his fingers through the large fingers that held him. "Hi. Al. Izumi."
Immediately, Izumi clapped her hands together fixing the floor. "Ed! Why-When did you get back?" She hurried over to him, throwing her arms around him, Al's already around him.

"Nii-san! Why didn't you come and visit?" Al looked up into his brother's face.

Ed swallowed, pretending not to notice Izumi's glistening eyes. "Well, I just got here about a week ago. And I was in Mustang and Riza's back yard. Then I ran into Dominique and she dragged me to Winry's. She fixed up my automail..." Ed pulled his sleeve up for them to see.

"Nii-san..." Al's eyes were on his brother. "..."

"Yeah... I grew some, so Winry had to fix it." He forced a smile to his lips.

"How did you get back?" Izumi asked. Her husband came up silently behind them.

"I don't know," Ed answered truthfully. He stood in an uncomfortable silence in the arms of his teacher and his brother, neither of whom he knew.

Izumi pulled back and smoothed herself out. "Well, Mr. Elric, you left the window open, your bag by the door, and muddy footprints. I thought you were a thief."

Ed blinked. "Oh, right! I'm sorry!"

"You are taller, Nii-san." Al smiled at him eagerly.

Ed nodded proudly. "Yup! I'm not four-foot eleven anymore! I am now five foot!" He proclaimed.

Izumi smiled at him and then adopted a sterner expression. "I still expect you to clean up the floors, Ed."

Grimacing, Ed nodded. "Yes. I will."

"Now."

Ed nodded meekly and went to the kitchen for a rag to clean with and cleaned up his tracks through the house, Al following him.

"So where were you, nii-san? What happened?"

Ed scrubbed the footprints from the floor. Al didn't remember anything of what had happened during their years wandering, and him working for the military. He'd been reverted back to a ten-year-old. "I went through the gate."

"The gate?"

Ed nodded. "You...you remember when we...when we tried to bring Mom back?"

Al nodded solemnly, eyes on his older brother.

"Well, it obviously didn't work, and I went through that gate. It's the same gate. I saved you and then lost my arm and leg for saving you. Other stuff happened too, I don't know how much you know--if you remember any of it--but we ended up--"

"The Philosopher's Stone," Al interrupted.

Ed blinked. "Yeah. The Philosopher's Stone. We were trying to find a Philosopher's Stone. But we couldn't."

"I've been told the story, Nii-san. I know most of it."

Ed nodded. "Okay. That makes it easier then. So, I went through the gate and ended up in a land called Germany. I lived there and worked in science, because they can't to alchemy there. But they do have a lot of other stuff. They still have cars, but they also have planes, dirigibles, and they are even sending people to the moon."

Al stared at him, wide-eyed. "The moon? Planes?"

"Yup." Ed nodded, moving on to scrub more. "Planes are giant metal birds that hold people and travel really fast. They fly through the sky and carry people from one place to another. And there's a space program where they're trying to send people to the moon. I was trying to get into that so I could try and get back."

"How did you get back?"

"I already said, Al, I don't know."

"Oh." He was silent.

"It's all right though!" He smiled at him cheerily. "Don't be...weird or anything around me, alright?"

"No! I'm not, Nii-san!" Al smiled too. "Were they really trying to send people to the moon?"

Ed nodded. "Yup. So I was going to try and get into the space program to get back."

"So were you just somewhere and then POOF! you were here?"

"Well..." Ed sat back and scratched his head. "Not really..." He stood and headed to the kitchen were Izumi was sitting with her husband, a pot of something on the stove. "I'm done."

Izumi fell silent and looked up at him. "Good." She smiled.

"So what did happen?" Al asked eagerly.

"What do you mean what happened?" Izumi's husband asked.

"Um..." Ed washed out the rag. "We were talking about where I was..."

"Where were you?" Izumi inquired, standing to check on the pot.

"I was in Germany in another world. Across the gate."

Izumi was silent.

"And then I asked him what triggered him getting here, and he's not answering!" Al put in.

Izumi looked over at Ed. "Yes, there had to be some sort of trigger. People don't just pass through the gate. Did you do something to activate the gate, Ed?"

Ed shook his head. "I already said I don't know how I got here, but--"

"Yeah, but something triggered--"

"But, I had been going out to meet a friend for dinner and I was crossing the street. I got hit by the car."

"A car!" Al gasped.

Izumi's eyes widened as she looked at him. "So do you think--"

"Yes." Ed nodded slowly, wringing out the towel. "I think it was me getting hit by the car that triggered it. But I don't know why. I technically should have died--" The rest of the words died on his lips.

"N-nii-san...?" Al looked at him, worried, understanding clicking in his mind.

Izumi's jaw tightened.

Ed looked at them all. "Well, hey! I mean, if I died over there it's no big deal!" He gave them all a large grin. "I mean, I'd much rather be here than there!"

Al looked slightly assuaged. Izumi did not. "Edward... I would not be so cas--"

Ed laughed over her words. "Oh, it's all right, Izumi-sensei! I'm not too worried! We have good medical services too! They couldn't treat my auto-mail, but that's all right, they've never seen auto-mail before!" He laughed again, throwing her a look.

Izumi got the message and nodded, keeping silent for Al's sake. "Well, dinner will be ready shortly. How about you set the table."

Ed nodded as Al took his hand. "I'll show you where everything is, Nii-san!"

Thanks everybody for reading. I'm not done yet, but it's getting there. I appreciate all of the comments that you all have left. They make me happy. Lol. Thanks.