In Times of Peace

Chapter Seven

Search and Rescue

Fuhrer's Estate

Winry had noticed the boys were no longer playing in the garden about twenty minutes after she had let them outside. She knew they hadn't come back in because she had been in the dining room the whole time, working on some paperwork for the shop.

She sighed in frustration, not yet worried, as she stepped out into the garden and followed the path to the edge of the woods. William had left his ball there, right as the path ended, so she assumed she had been correct thinking they had decided to go play in the shade of the trees. "Yuery! William! Come out now!" she yelled. She heard the backdoor open, likely either Al or Roy had heard her since they had arrived so fast. Ed was still upstairs.

"I mean it boys! You have til ten! ONE!...TWO!...THREE!... FOUR!... FIVE!... SIX!..." Alphonse slipped up beside her with a frown on his face.

"SEV-"

"You can stop Win. They aren't hiding there." Al said quietly, before turning back toward the house. "I'm going to go get Dad and JiMu. You should go in and help Mei watch the others."

"No! If my sons are missing I am going to help look for them!" Winry said stubbornly, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Fine. Give me five minutes. Change your shoes." Al said as he once again turned back toward the house. Winry followed behind him to change into her boots. Al was right, she needed better shoes if she was walking through the woods.

Al rushed into the house, and upstairs, to find his wife. He explained quickly that they needed to go in search of the boys and she agreed right away to watch the babies while they were gone. Edward overheard them and rushed downstairs himself.

Downstairs, Roy and Riza were already tying their boots, and Edward was slipping his on when Al and Mei got down the stairs. Winry had finished changing her shoes and was currently filling a bottle of water for each of them to carry with them.

"Brother, are you really up to this?" Al asked as he knotted his own boots.

"I'm going. They are my sons." Ed replied, before taking a bottle from Winry and thanking her.

"They can't have gotten far at least." Al said, concerned over his brother's leg with Ed's recent illness.

Roy, Riza, Ed, and Winry were already on their way across the garden as Al said goodbye to Mei quickly and caught up with them. "Al said yelling for them was pointless so I assume they must have wandered father than he can sense them?" Winry said as they walked along.

"That doesn't mean they've gone very far Win. We can only feel someone for a few yards, unless they are very powerful and not exactly human." Ed said. "Al, Dad and I are all still learning. Mei would be able to sense further I think."

They heard the cry of the bird, before Al nodded. "See, I think that must have been it. They heard that and thought there was an injured animal that needed their help."

"Oh those boys are in so much trouble." Winry said angrily. She was going to find them, and then they were going to be grounded for the rest of the year.

"They get that from you." Ed said to Winry with a smirk.

"No, I'm pretty sure they get it from you. You were the one who could never behave." Winry said in response.

"I'd say they take after both of you." Roy said from in front of them, where he had been leading the group.

"I don't suppose they could have possibly picked it up from you at all." Riza replied

"It's going to be dark soon. Lets check near the stream first, they would know that area." Al said.

Stream

"So, are you boys hungry? My Edith made me some sandwiches to bring with me." Eber said as he pulled two sandwiches out of his bag.

"Thank you sir." Yuery said shyly and Will nodded even as he took a large bite.

"It's just meat." William said to Yuery.

"Well. Then it isn't put together wrong." Yuery replied, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

"But-"

"Will, be nice. Mom and Dad said sometimes you're just going to have to when it's not right." Yuery said.

"Fine." Will replied with a huff. He thanked Eber as well, and took another bite of the sandwich.

Will was cold and hungry and wanted to go home. He hoped their Dad would find them soon so that they didn't have to stay by the water forever. Will wasn't a big fan of the idea of sleeping outside, or even being out in the dark.

In the distance Will thought he heard mom calling for them, but he shook his head. He decided it couldn't really be her out here looking for them.

"I hear your mom yelling for ya." Eber said. "Mind you cover your ears this is gonna be loud." He waited until both boys had their ears covered before he whistled shrilly, then yelled. "OVER HERE BY THE WATER! I GOT THEM OVER HERE!"

William and Yuery heard their adults coming, they sounded like they were running, before Dad and Yeye burst through the trees followed closely by Uncle and Mom. Dad rushed forward to grab both boys into a hug, while the groundskeeper smiled at them and started packing up his fishing gear.

"How did you find them?" Roy asked.

"Well, I didn't mean to, that is I didn't know they'd gone wandering. I came on down here to catch some fish for dinner for me and my Edith. When I got here they were huddled on the bank. I didn't think they'd follow me back up to the house. They are jumpy little guys, so I sat with them until y'all showed up." Eber said as he stood with his basket and pole.

"It doesn't look like you got a chance to catch anything." Roy said.

"No sir. They're good boys but they're distracting." Eber said. "They need to learn to be still."

"We're working on it. They need to know these things." Ed agreed. "Why don't you and Edith join us for dinner since we managed to ruin your plans?"

"I would be honored sir." Eber said.

"Okay, dinner is at seven. We'll see you both there. Thank you." Winry said, glancing at her watch and hoping Mei had started something. They would barely have enough time to make it home as it was.

"Let's call dinner eight tonight." Riza said. "These boys need a good scrub before they are fit for the table. If that's not to late for anyone?"

Eber nodded and walked away, presumably to collect Edith. The family made their way back to the house, the boys in the center of the group to prevent them slipping away again.

"Don't think for a minute you aren't in trouble boys." Ed said to them as they reached the garden. "I doubt you will be doing any more exploring this summer, with or without us."

"Okay, Daddy." Yuery said in a quiet voice. "We thought we heard a kitten."

"I blame you and your freakish cat obsession. Stop influencing my kids." Ed said to Al. "Boys, I don't care what you thought you heard, you get a grown up. Am I understood?"

"Yes Daddy." The boys said together. Winry nodded along, before Ed took them up to give them a bath before dinner.

Mei had thoughtfully thought to start something so that dinner would be ready, or close to ready, when they got home.