I know I promised longer chapters, but this one just sort of seemed 'complete', you know?

In any case, I have learned 3 things this weekend: Waking up at 5 AM on a Saturday sucks, Being the only girl on a bus with 8 other guys isn't nearly as fun as it sounds, and how to play Euchre. For those who have never heard of the game, apparently it's the redneck version of Hearts (which I have also never played). For those who have… Are there any better teachers, cos I'm still confused. XD

Enjoy!

"Colonel Mustang?" Riza asked. Roy turned around and started walking backwards. Riza raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristically casual behavior. "Where are you going?"

"Sergeant Simian called, I have to go clean out my dormitory." He turned back around, exiting the office.

Riza glanced down at the secretary, who blinked up at her innocently. "Melissa? What was that about?"

The brunette young woman shrugged. "I just put the calls through, I don't listen in on them." She scribbled something on a page and set it aside.

"No, not too much." Riza said, raising an eyebrow. She knew that the petite secretary had a tendency to know more than she should.

"I think it's supposed to be a surprise of some sort," Melissa said sheepishly, "but," she added hastily when she eyes the gun at Riza's hip, "I believe he's been reinstated as Colonel, and is no longer a member of the police force."

Riza's face softened into a small smile. "I see. Thank you, Melissa."

"Your welcome," Melissa sighed with relief.

The relative silence was broken by a periodic, hacking cough.

"There, there… breathe in deeply, this will clear your lungs." Sharon's soothing voice floated on the air over the coughing.

"Brother!" Al sighed exasperatedly. "How did you manage this?"

"I don't know—cough—Al… I just…"

"Shush." Sharon rubbed Ed's back soothingly, pushing him gently over the steaming bowl of herbs. "Breathe." Sharon turned to address Al and Noa, who were standing in the doorway. "I would suggest that you stay away for the most part, it would do absolutely no good for you to catch his cold."

"You're right, Sharon." Al bowed with a small smile. Noa nodded as well and turned to follow Al out. "I needed some fresh air anyway."

"I'll come with you." Noa said. They went out onto the tiny front porch and sat on the steps.

"Wow… you can see so many stars…" Al whispered. "It reminds me of back home, in Rozembul…"

"That's Ed and your hometown, isn't it?" Noa asked. She looked at Al curiously. He dropped his gaze from the sky to Noa's face.

"It was," He replied. "It's a beautiful place. The air is clear and the stars at night are almost never hidden."

"It sounds lovely." Noa said, crossing her arms and resting them on her knees. She, too, stared up at the sky. "There isn't enough beauty in this world."

"There are many beautiful places here," Al protested. "I had never seen the ocean until we came here. To be frank, I had kind of thought it was the stuff of legends because Amestris was such a landlocked nation, and we didn't really communicate well with the outside countries."

"Really?" Noa asked. "I loved visiting the coastal towns. There were sometimes carnivals on beaches that we would go to."

"It sounds like fun." Al's gaze returned to the sky. "I wonder… what's across the ocean? I mean, they don't talk about it much in general."

"America," Noa said. "The gypsies say that it's a kind of Shambala on Earth. It's supposed to be a beautiful land, where opportunities wait around every corner for even a gypsy to get real work. My people never have enough money to go there, though. To get there, you have to take a ship. I heard that it takes weeks, and disease is still common in the third-class cabins where we would have to travel."

"Oh… How much money would it take?"

"Almost a hundred dollars per room…" Noa sighed. "It's impossible for my people to collect that much money and keep it."

"Impossible, maybe, for a Gyspy," Al said slowly, "But you're traveling with Elrics, now."

Noa looked up at him, eyes widened slightly. "What…?"

"Ed and I used to travel a lot, everywhere. We knew a think or two about keeping up with money."

Noa's expression of shock faded into hope. "Do you mean that we might actually… be able to visit America?"

"I'm sure of it." Al grinned as he stood up, offering Noa a hand. "As soon as we find the bomb and take care of it, I'll take you to America," he asserted. Noa took his hand and was startled when his emotions leaked through, even though she was trying to control his ability. Visions of a land he had never seen drifted through his head… Noa quickly released his hand, blushing, once she was standing.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling.