Declaimer: I'm getting really confused. I know I don't own any of the places or characters mentioned in this book… but I do own this idea if it is anything like the second movie? Hmmm… that doesn't sound right.

Forth Bit.

For the umpteenth time in the past few days Winry asked herself the same question, what am I doing here? What am I trying to accomplish? She could never get a straight answer, from herself or anyone else. Why was she looking through these old Alchemy books? What did she think she was going to find? The closest answer she had been able to come up with was a reason why… If she couldn't bring Ed back to her, than she was going to go to Ed. She couldn't answer the question of how she was going to manage that though. Even if she did discover a way, how could she ever leave everything she had ever known? It wasn't like making a decision to move somewhere new; it was making the decision of whether or not you wanted to live on Earth or the Moon.

She snapped the book shot in front of her after realizing she had read over three pages without actually registering what she was reading. She had to get her mind off of all this for a while, she needed to do something new, something distracting.

She slid her legs off of the bed she was perched on, and groaned irritably when a pile of books followed her legs and slid to the floor. Winry crouched down and started picking them up.

When she lifted herself up again to put the books back on the bed, her head spun like it usually did. But this time, the spinning didn't go away. It felt like her head was falling backwards as if something was pulling her away, she tried to compensate and tipped her head forward, which only worsened the problem. Then it felt like the floor shifted, making her lose her balance… she was out before she hit the ground.

Ugg… a headache, just like all her other ones. Winry had gotten used to waking up with them, but that didn't mean it was any better. Opening her eyes to an unfamiliar room probably wasn't a good sign either. Although, it didn't mean much, she could have passed out… the hospital staff had probably moved her to another room. There wasn't any beeping though, was that a good sign?

She turned over and realized she was in a large bed; a soft blanket surrounding her, and a pillow she could lose herself in. The mattress was soft too, and she knew for a fact the hospital didn't have anything like it.

There was something familiar about everything though, that dull washed out look to even the most vibrant of things. The tunnel vision too, she remember that. It all brought back the memory of that dream she had had. She lifted her left arm to see, like before, that it was as real as it had been all those years ago. Winry traced her palm with her fingers somewhat mournfully, it felt good to feel again, but was it worth the loss of the one thing that had meaning in her life?

After waiting hesitantly for something dreadful to happen, Winry decided she might as well have a better look around. Everything felt so real.

She could feel her feet padding across the floor as she left the bedroom and wandered into the dinning room. She could feel the brushing of her silk nightgown against her thighs, as she moved to the nearest window. It looked like early morning, the streets were just waking up, and the smell of something like bread was floating through the air. Her eyes adjusted to her reflection in the window once she noticed something odd. Her eyes narrowed to see the vague image… it looked like her hair was short.

Winry turned around to look for a bathroom that might have a better mirror. She found a small washroom in the back of the house, and stood transfixed looking at her own reflection. Her face was the same, her eyes were still blue, but her hair… it was still blond, but now it bounced around her ears in curly little tendrils. She didn't mind the look, it was just different… surprising mostly.

She placed her hands on the sink and tried to sort everything out. What did this mean? Where was she? She couldn't bring herself to believe that it was anything more than a dream, how on earth could it be! But she had to face the reality that it was more real than most other things she had experienced. The color was off, her appearance was different, but besides that, there was nothing different about this than anything else. She was sure she had never thought like this, and considered things like this in any other dream before. Dreams were for being caught up in a completely different world and character of yourself, you never really remember the "real" you.

Winry walked back into the bedroom to try and find something to wear. There was nothing really appealing to her, so she settled for a long ruffled white skirt, and brown long-sleeved button up top, it wasn't the most comfortable thing, but it seemed like her only option.

She stepped outside onto the street tentatively, everything seemed so foreign, and she didn't really know what to do with herself. But whatever it was that was happening to her, seemed to be going on longer than before, so she planned to take full advantage of it. Maybe she could learn something from it.

The streets were filling fast; everyone seemed to be busy buying something, or trading something, or yelling about something. The houses were all so crooked together, like a painting almost, but more inviting. Winry almost felt like asking someone where she was… but thought better of it… what would the person think? How could she be in a town, and not know where she was?

She walked aimlessly through the streets, studying the stores with interest. The thoughts racing through the back of her mind were too hopeful to acknowledge. She didn't want to spoil the moment with blurting out what she thought might be happening, only to watch everything melt away around her, revealing itself as the dream it was.

"Ed?" Al asked worriedly, "Are you okay?" he thought momentarily that he had been asking that question a lot lately.

Ed reeled, trying to understand what his brother was asking him.

"Ed?" It was Noah this time.

He couldn't pay attention to either of them, he wanted to concentrate on this feeling, before it vanished just like before.

Noah reached out a hand to touch Ed and get a better perspective on what was happening. Her eyes closed and she trembled like before, the energy was strong! So strong; why couldn't she feel it herself?

She ignored Ed's thoughts on the matter, so she could inform Al on what was going on.

"Something is here… the energy is different than other things, it's what makes it stand out. It's intruding though…" She paused in her thoughts so she could catch up with the nuances in the sensation; "It has pushed something aside in order to fit here. But the thing it pushed aside… it should be stronger." One last tremor and she pulled away from Ed. She didn't like this, it wasn't right.

Ed stood stature still, trying to absorb as much of the feeling as he could. He didn't want it to go away, it was like the feeling of finding something you lost.

Al's brow knotted, "What does that mean?"

Noah shrugged, "It means something is here that shouldn't be here."

"Here? As in… this world?"

Noah nodded, "Yes, only closer than that. The energy is strong enough to make me believe it may be in Rome."

"So… what should we do about it?" after years of traveling with his brother, Al had somehow gotten it into his head, that every problem was their problem.

"There's nothing we can do…"

Ed smiled, "We could find it."

Damn, this blurry vision was really starting to make things difficult. Winry always kept tripping on things she couldn't really see, because looking down was a problem… her eyes just didn't seem to allow it. It felt like something else in her head kept trying to push her aside too, and whatever it was seemed to have other plans for her feet than she did.

She finally just sat down on a bench near a marble fountain. The sound was soothing, and let her thoughts clear for a moment. Could she say it? Could she even think it?

Her lips quivered, was she there? Had she died? Her head had certainly hurt more than it usually did before she had passed out. But the gate… wasn't she supposed to go through the gate? Wherever she was, it certainly felt like another world.

"Honey?"

The voice jolted her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see the confused face of Edward Densing… or was it Denner? Maybe it was something else altogether.

"What are you doing in town?"

She decided to play along, "I just felt like I needed some fresh air." She had forgotten about this, it was the one little fly in the ointment. If she was on the other side of the door, how was it that she seemed to have another whole life here? How was it… if she had never been here before, this man seemed to know her well enough to call her Honey?

Edward sighed, "The doctor said it was better that you didn't go out by yourself. After you fainted I thought you of all people would want to be careful."

Fainted? Was Winry Miller having the same problems as her?

"I just…" The all to familiar sensation of her brain being folded up and twisted around came back to her threefold. Her tunnel vision closed in until darkness gave way to a flash of light.

"Damn it!" Ed growled under is breath, it was gone. It faded just like before; the all too strange feeling, leaving him with a sense of loss. He hadn't even begun to start his search for where it was originating. Noah hadn't seemed too thrilled with the idea anyways, but that didn't matter, she wasn't the one feeling it.

"So what are we going to do now?" Al stretched, they were still idly standing around getting nowhere, and he was supposed to be at work a half hour ago.

"We wait…" It had lasted longer this time; maybe next time it would give them enough time to look for it.

Night was restless, each one of them sleeping in their own separate rooms at one of the inn's in town. They were trying to save for a small house, but Al didn't really believe this situation was going to last that long. They were all meant to travel; the idea of a home just seemed unnecessary. They still hadn't found what they were looking for. First it had been the atomic bomb… they had found that man, but it was too late, the knowledge had already seeped into the country, and all they could do was sit back and watch a world of war unfold around them. So what now? They didn't even have a purpose, and it seemed that Ed wanted to latch onto anything that might hold meaning, even if it –like everything else- got them nowhere.

Noah turned in bed, closed her eyes, and decided better of it. She couldn't sleep, not tonight; she had to check on something. She slipped out of the covers quietly, and tiptoed lightly out in the hall. She found herself in front of Ed's door as if her mind didn't really have much to do with the decision; no matter, it was where she had wanted to go anyways.

His door was open, like she knew it would be, there was nothing to lock it against in this town.

Noah stepped in and closed the door behind her with her breath held. But under the covers Ed didn't stir. She let out a determined breath, and padded to his bedside. She kneeled down on the floor, and lifted a delicate hand to brush her fingers against his cheek. She closed her eyes, and let the dream seep into her mind.

Everything was so vibrant! Noah had gotten used to the colors of Ed's dreams, and welcomed them with open arms. She never knew color could exist like this, and she often wondered if this was actually how Ed's world looked, or if it was just the exaggeration of dreams.

Like most of the time, she saw herself experiencing things through Ed's eyes. He was walking through a grassy countryside, rolling with small stonewalls, and speckled with trees every now and then. There was a river; he had been here before in other dreams. A girl was sitting next to him, resting her head on his shoulder; the same girl that was always in his dreams. Noah mused to herself that she would be tired of dreaming the same thing every night, but these dreams… they seemed to be the only thing that kept Ed going anymore.

The blond girl lifter her left hand, which glinted silver in the sun, and looked at the palm happily. There was a small red symbol in the center, and she could feel Ed lift his own hand to trace it. The metal of both their fingers tapped together. Noah felt guilty for looking in on such a personal moment, but she had to keep looking, if she couldn't dream herself tonight, she could always dream with Ed… whether he knew it or not.

The two turned to each other.

"I miss you," Ed whispered the thought more than he spoke the words.

The girl turned away.

"I didn't want to leave you…" it sounded like he was pleading for forgiveness.

"Then why did you? You said you would come back!" she still wouldn't look at him.

"I had to. Our world would have been in danger."

She finally looked into his eyes again, "Was it worth it?"

Noah opened her eyes to the dark hotel room. She couldn't watch anymore, what frightened her more than anything was Ed's answer. She knew what it was.

She curled down beside his bed and denied herself tears. Why couldn't she be the one worth it? Why couldn't she be the one he wanted to stay with?

Noah left the room in a withdrawn mood, she couldn't bear to keep seeing Ed like this, and knowing he would never notice her as more than just Noah.

She looked up and saw Al walking down the hall towards the bathrooms, looking groggy and unkempt. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, letting herself cry.

Al was so caught off guard by the embrace; it took him a moment to realize it wasn't some stranger tackling him in the hall. What was Noah doing awake this late? And why was she crying? He hugged her the best he could given the awkward position.

She sobbed lightly, "why can't he be happy here?"

Al frowned, "What happened?"

She sniffed, "I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself when it's so easy." She paused for such a long time that Al was almost about to ask her again, "I looked into his dream."

Al was slowly waking up, "You what?"

Noah let go of him and rubbed her arms nervously, "I do it every once in a while, it's easy, all I have to do is touch his arm, or his face…" she bit her lip, "he's always dreaming about the same thing though," she laughed mirthlessly, "but I still can't stop."

Oh boy… this wasn't the type of problem he was used to helping people with. How could he possibly help with this? His feelings were too close to everything, and Noah's were somewhere else completely. Why is it, that even when Ed is emotionally millions of miles away, there was always someone waiting for him, or trying to draw him back? It wasn't fair… it was never fair. But dealing with it had become a habit; Ed was still his brother.

"You should understand that Ed had a lot more in our world than I did. He lost a lot more too. I was so young when everything happened to me, and all I ever needed was my brother… now that I'm with him again, I'm free to find other things, while Ed is still missing the things he had."

Noah nodded soberly, her eyes still tracing the lines of wood on the floor.

"You should go to bed. Don't worry about Ed, he'll be in this world some day." Even though I'm here right now, Al silently finished his sentence.

"But it's already been a year. I doubt he'll ever be completely here…"

Al shrugged, "Ed's a very single minded person, if he doesn't have something distracting him he'll stay with the same thoughts forever. He just needs something new to need."

She nodded again and looked up to Al, "Couldn't I give him something to need?"

Al strained against every instinct inside of him, "I don't know… do what you feel is right and see what happens." Why was he doing this? Why couldn't he just shut up and say that he really needed to go to the bathroom? Wasn't that what he had gotten out of bed to do in the first place?

Noah smiled weakly, "Thank you Al… for listening, you've always been so patient with me."

Al gave a sluggish nod; patient? How could he change the meaning of that definition?

"Goodnight Noah." He walked passed her without another word, he had to remember not to drink anything before bed anymore…

A/N I still love you!