I guess I'm being nice this weekend? Maybe it's because I've got two more chapters until anything remotely action-like happens? Heck, I might even post another one today (I like being nice; should do it more often…just kidding). I would like to thank Indome for pointing out the whole Glacier/Grace thing. With all of the subbed versions I've seen it would vary between the two names, and it totally skipped my mind when I had my US episodes playing in the background (I usually have something on when I do my homework at night).

Actually…(goes off to check fast)

20 minutes pass…sorry, I'm back…Stupid addicting show. I watched the episode where Elysia is born (So cute!), and Hughes's wife's name is Gracia (facepalm).

But I went ahead and changed them in the last chapter as well as throughout the rest of the story. I simply adore the Hughes family and couldn't help myself to include them in this story!

Chapter Nineteen

Winry came back to her room that night exhausted, but happy. William took her around town and the streets filled with people to see the fireworks display and the parade wind its way downtown. They never had anything like this in Rizenbul! They bought snacks at a booth for dinner, and sat on the far side of the sidewalk, watching the many floats pass them by as people scrambled to get beads and candy that were thrown. Winry laughed as she saw the many costumes people had the nerve to wear and walk around town in. By the time she got back to her room, and hugged her friend goodnight, she realized she never got around to asking him how he knew her classified information. She flopped on her bed and kicked her boots off, stretching out as far as she could on her small bed.

"You had fun I assume?" came a voice in the dark, making the girl screech. The light on her desk turned on to reveal it was her grandmother lying on a cot.

"Don't do that! You scared me half to death!" laughed the teenager, as she sat up to face the older woman. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make so much noise! I totally forgot that you were staying here tonight."

The grandmother waved her hand slightly as she smiled, "Don't worry, I'm usually a night owl anyway. Was I right though? Did you have fun?"

Winry nodded and went into explanation and added every detail she could remember. Pinako chuckled at the thought of costumes and parades, but finally became serious after a few minutes. "Did you ever get to ask him? About how he knows?"

The girl's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she realized she had forgotten. The telltale sign cause the old woman to sigh to herself, "I kind of figured you'd forget."

"I'm sorry, Grams! I was having so much fun that it just slipped my mind! I swear I'll ask him the next time I see him." She saw her grandmother not being convinced and decided to drop the subject. "So, how is Edward doing? Is his arm okay now? Did you remember to give him the envelope?"

"Calm down, child. Only one question at a time for this old woman."

Edward stared silently at the nearby wall, as he lay in his bed waiting for Pinako to arrive. Time passed slowly as he watched the shadows of the setting sun reach over the buildings and flood the room. He hated being in one place like this; hated that he wasn't allowed to move around a lot. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard a knock at the door, and turned his head to see the short woman walk in. She had Sergeant Fury bring her bag inside and lay it on a nearby table that could be moved closer to the bed if needed.

"It took you long enough, Pinako," Edward joked as he smiled at the family friend. She turned to face him and tweaked his nose, "You're lucky I came at all, Edward. The nerve of having an old woman travel all over the country to come fix a brat who doesn't know any better…"

"Ow, that hurt. I'm not a brat anymore," he said sarcastically as he slowly sat up in bed. His right arm hung limply at his side, and no matter what he tried, it wouldn't move an inch. Pinako looked over to see what was left of Al piled up in the corner, keeping quiet. "You okay, Al? You've seen better days, you know…"

The armor lifted his head and looked at the two, "Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, so tell me what happened. I need to know everything, so I can figure out what went wrong with your arm," Pinako said as she sat back in a chair and lit her pipe. Edward went into explanation about what happened at the Fifth laboratory, down to every last detail. He explained that his arm felt funny during his fight with the criminals that had their souls transmutated into armor, similar to what he did with Al. The older brother lifted his shirt slightly to show the old woman yet another stab wound he received and had been stitched. He decided not to go into detail about how the homunculus tried to force him to make the Philosopher's Stone, and the older woman decided not to pry into the sore subject. As he talked, Pinako lifted his arm, and moved the components around, listening closely to see if anything didn't sound right. Taking the main covers off of the metal arm, she poked and prodded with her screwdriver.

In a matter of minutes, the old woman had the arm fixed as good as new. Edward stretched it out, opening and closing his hand to test it out, "Thanks, Auntie. You're the greatest."

"Tell me something I didn't know," she smiled as she put away her tools. Edward slowly lifted himself from bed and walked over to where Al sat on the floor, "Sorry it took so long, Al. Let me fix you…" He clapped his hands together and placed them on part of the remaining armor, and watched as the broken and shattered pieces began to mend themselves back into a whole piece. The younger brother stood with his metal body and tested his limbs.

"Thanks again, Pinako," Edward said as he stood up and walked slowly over to the window.

"You're very welcome, Edward," she yawned out as she stretched. "These bones are not as young as they used to be, so I am off to my room so I can get some decent sleep for the train ride back to Rizenbul tomorrow." Ruffling though her bag, Pinako pulled out an envelope and walked over to the teen to place it in his hands.

"Here," she said as she patted his shoulder slightly, "You're birthday is in a few days, and I want to wish you a happy one. This is not from me though." Edward turned the envelope over in his hands and looked questioningly over to Pinako. Realization hit him and he smiled slightly at the older woman, "So, how is she doing anyway?"

A small laugh erupted from Pinako's mouth as she didn't think he'd catch on that quickly, "She's doing fine, Edward. Her arm is better, and she is back to her old self."

He nodded his head slightly as the old woman went back to her bag to close it. "Well, Edward. Alphonse. I'm off to bed. Now you two don't get yourselves into so much trouble. I won't be able to rush out here every time you lose a screw…"

Both teens nodded their heads and saw the older woman smile. She went and knocked on the door, alerting Sergeant Fury that she was ready to leave. He quietly walked into the room and picked up Pinako's bag, not making eye contact with either of the brothers. As he was about to exit the room, he stopped when he heard Alphonse speak.

"Sergeant Fury, those are some nasty bruises you have…What happened?"

He looked down to see that, indeed, the bruise from where Winry grabbed him in their sparring match peeked out from underneath his sleeve. It had begun to heal and was turning from its former dark bluish hue to a sickly green color. Fury stood up straight with Pinako's bag and winced from the weight.

"Um, well, you know how military training is! It can be a real killer sometime…"
Edward and Alphonse stared at the nervous soldier as he retreated though the door and down the hall. Pinako looked at the door and shook her head slightly, "Well, you boys get some rest, and give me a call once in awhile to let me know you're still alive, ok?" Both boys nodded their heads again at the old woman as she turned and exited the room.

"So it wasn't as bad as it sounded?"

"No, child," Pinako stated as she yawned, "it just seemed he had lost a few bolts and screws, and we both know that it's all it can take sometimes to render an automail limb useless." Winry nodded at her statement and yawned herself. Looking around, she saw the cot that her grandmother was laying on didn't appear to be too comfortable. "Grams, why don't you take my bed tonight. I'll take the cot. You have a long trip to sit through tomorrow."

She saw the older woman wave her hand at her in disagreement, "Don't worry about me, Winry. You will have much more to put up with than I in a few days. Get all the rest you can," she yawned again as she lay back down on her cot and turned off the nearby lamp. Winry smiled at her grandmother's stubbornness, and took her boots off, so she could lie in bed. Pulling the covers up to her chin, she spoke quietly to the darkness.

"I asked the Colonel today if I could be allowed to do my own research on the Philosopher's Stone. I told him I might be able to find something out that the boys haven't yet…And he told me I could…"

"Are you sure you're up to doing something of this magnitude on your own? Edward said something about human sacrifice being needed to make the stone."

"That's why I want to try and help. Maybe I can find some way to get around that."

Winry heard her grandmother roll over on the squeaky cot. "Is it more of a hope?" she heard the old woman utter quietly.

Pinako heard the teenager laugh slightly to herself, "Yeah, I guess that's what you could also call it."

"Winry, I have always supported you in any goal you set for yourself. There are those that I would rather you had not been involved in, but you are old enough to make decisions in your own life. And I know there's also another underlying reason on why you want to research this stone so badly. Just promise me you'll at least try to stay alive."

Expecting the teen to laugh at her small joke, Pinako was surprised when she was met with silence. Then a small voice broke though, "Thank you Grams. I'll try."

"Enough worrying now, child. Get some sleep."

Silence surrounded the room for a few minutes; the moonlight played small shadows on the wall from the passing clouds. Pinako was just on the verge of sleep when a quiet voice spoke.

"Grams? I had a thought tonight when I was at the festival…"

"And what might that be, child."
"I was thinking…If I do this research, I very well may be in the same town as Edward on any given day, since we both will be doing research and missions for the military. I still do not want him to see me, so I was thinking of changing the way I look so I could blend into the crowd more. At a distance maybe look like someone he doesn't know; like a complete stranger."

Winry didn't know if the silence in the room was from her grandmother thinking over her statement or if she had perhaps fallen asleep while she was talking. She was about to call out her grandmother's name again when she heard the quiet response.

"No matter what you do to your outward appearance, you will always risk the chance of him realizing you are there. That is one of the chances you will have to take if you are to find an alternate method to making this Philosopher's Stone. It may help, but you have to understand that he may become suspicious if he finds out another is doing the same research as he."

"Yeah," whispered Winry, "and with him being as stubborn as he is, he'll stop at nothing to find out who it is. Hmmmm…"

"But if you want my opinion," Pinako said half-asleep, "I think it's a wonderful idea…"

The girl smiled as she heard her grandmother finally fall asleep. Soon, she thought, she'll make a trip back to the Hughes's house and talk to Gracia about it. She should be able to help.

Edward and Alphonse watched as the older woman and sergeant walked out of the room and shut the door behind them.

"What was that all about, brother? He's never been that nervous around us before, even when he found out I was empty inside…" Al said quietly, stretching out his arms and continuing to check them out.

Ed looked from the door to the envelope, with the words Happy Birthday written on the front of the envelope within his hands. He opened it to find a small note with an even smaller envelope enclosed within it. Unfolding the note, Edward read though the few words written:

I've made a little something that will connect us no matter where we are. Stay safe.

Edward smiled again as he recognized Winry's handwriting. He opened the smaller envelope and almost gasped when a small pendant and necklace fell into his hands. Fear tore through him as he realized it was exactly like the one he had left for her before departing Rizenbul. But, she wasn't giving it back to him, was she? Did she not believe what he said in his note? Did she even care?

He turned the pendant over in his hands to look at the back, and read the words that were inscribed into the snake.

I'll be waiting…

Edward read the words over and over in his head. They were not the ones he had inscribed on the necklace he had given her. He snatched the note he already read, and reread it to make sure he understood it.

"Brother, are you okay? What's wrong?" Al asked as he walked up to the bed. Edward held the pendant and necklace in one hand, and the note in his other. He read the words on the back of the pendant yet again, and a small smile crept to his face.

"Yeah, Al…I'm fine now," Edward laughed slightly as he realized his first assumption was totally wrong. Getting up from the bed, he walked over to the window and stared into the nighttime sky. Fumbling the first few times, Edward was finally able to clasp the necklace around his neck, and looked down at the shining pendant.

I just hope I don't have to make you wait too long, Winry, Edward thought to himself as he watched the night pass by.