Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or its characters, nor do I own or claim to own the FMA movie. I am just a fan. My ideas are original. If I use another show's ideas or themes, I will list them at the bottom of the chapter. However, I do not intentionally base my work on the work of others.

Author's note: Just a few facts to get you into the story. First, this story takes place three years after the movie, so five years after the anime series. Therefore, the year is 1925, and Ed is 20, and Al is 19.

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Chapter 8: Awake

Edward woke up. He was in a deep sleep. He had not slept that deeply in a long time.

Yet still, something had woken him up. He got this sudden feeling that there were eyes watching him.

Sure enough, he was right. Across the room was a pair of almond-shaped hazel eyes. They were examining him.

Ed's eyes widened in shock. He had hoped with all of his might that the girl would wake up. To see her actually awake, though, was something else.

He quickly pushed the blankets aside and walked over to the bed. He was frowning slightly.

"H-how are you feeling?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. For all he knew, she could be in unbearable pain.

"F-f…" the girl cleared her throat, but it was still too dry to speak. She closed her eyes and gulped, hoping to swallow enough saliva to moisten her vocal cords. She attempted again, this time with a little more success. "Felt better."

She gave Ed a mischievous smile. He couldn't help but smile back. He felt so relieved.

"W-who are you? Where am I…?" She had so many questions, but her head began spinning again.

I have to get out of here she thought.

"My name is Edward. Edward Elrich. We're in an inn. Do you remember what…"

The girl wasn't listening anymore. Her vision was narrowing and the world was getting dimmer. I can't stay here.

"Can you tell me your name?" Edward began frowning again. The girl wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead, her eyes were glassy and wildly searching to room.

Edward put his left hand on the girl's forehead. She's sweating. She must be getting a fever… damn it!

"Please, just stay calm. What's you name?"

Without warning, the girl started to push the covers aside.

Damn it! She's trying to leave!

Edward's mind was racing wildly. What do I do? Alphonse! No, if I call him in here she might get more frantic… he's probably sleeping, anyway.

"Please don't do this! You're not well. You'll rip your wound open… you're safe here. Please!"

He's right she thought. I am safe here. I feel safe here. But that still didn't change her mind.

Edward wanted to pin her down, but he didn't want to startle her, either. What else can I do, though? He put light pressure on her shoulder with his right hand. It didn't do much, though.

The girl, with all of her strength, swung her legs onto the floor. That alone nearly took the wind out of her. She wanted to cry out in pain, but she didn't want to appear weak. If can't be here anymore. You don't understand.

She moved Ed's hand off her shoulder and attempted to stand. She rose too quickly, though. The blood rushed from her head and she collapsed forward.

Edward caught her around the waist. He was careful not to touch her injured side. He slowly helped her sit down and then put her back into bed.

You're a stubborn one he thought. That's probably why you survived this.

She was too weak. Too tired. She wanted desperately to leave, but she regained her senses. Closing her eyes, she began to deliberate. I'll leave when I can stand. When I won't be noticed.

Suddenly, she felt cool. She opened her eyes and saw Edward standing over her. He was concentrating too hard on cooling her head off with a damp towel to notice that the girl looking at him.

Yes, I am safe here. He feels safe. She relaxed a little more.

A wave of fatigue swept over her again. Suddenly, her eyelids began drooping again. She let herself give into the drowsiness.

"Keira." She whispered.

"Hm?" said Ed.

"My name," she whispered. "It's Keira." With that, she fell back to sleep.

Nice to meet you, Keira.

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Alphonse was lying on the makeshift bed he and his brother had made in the kitchen. It consisted of a mattress and some blankets.

He couldn't sleep, though. He was worried about the girl. And his brother. They had agreed that they would take turns watching over her, but Edward hadn't left his chair. He was stubborn that way.

It seemed that all Edward wanted to do was protect his brother. And all Alphonse wanted to do was help his brother.

He heard muffled noises coming from the next room. They were too low to be voices… he couldn't make out any words.

Wait thought Al. He sat up and listened harder. They are voices! He got up as quickly as he could and put his ear to the door just to make sure.

What am I doing? Just open the door!

He slowly creaked the door open. He found his brother standing over the girl. He was holding a cold compress on her forehead.

"Brother? Is everything alright?"

He noticed the girl's covers had been tossed to the ground. What happened?

"She woke up, but she became disoriented. I think she has a fever." Edward put the compress back in the water, wrung it out, and placed it back on the girl's forehead. He then turned to Alphonse. "Do you think you can watch her for a while? I need to get some sleep."

Alphonse was glad that his brother was letting him help. He couldn't see much in the dim room, but he could tell from Ed's voice that he was drained. He's so stubborn.

"Of course, brother," replied Alphonse. He took a chair from the kitchen table and placed it near the foot of the girl's bed.

"She'll need the compress changed every now and again. Just wake me if you need anything. Thanks." Edward returned to his chair in the far corner of the room. He wanted to include Alphonse. He felt bad about ignoring him for the past few hours. He just didn't want to trouble him. It was his fault that he and Al got involved with this girl.

After blowing out the flickering candle on the table next to him, Ed curled up and let himself fall back to sleep.

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It was not until the sun began to fall once again did the girl begin to stir again. Al cautiously stood up and moved closer to her side.

Her fever has gone down he thought after placing the back of his hand on her forehead. Good.

She woke up. This time her head felt clear. When she opened her eyes, the world wasn't blurry anymore. She turned her head to the left and saw him again. Edward she thought. There he was again, sleeping soundly on his chair. So your name is Edward.

There was another body in the room. She could feel someone standing over her.

Before she even had time to turn her head to see who it was, the figure spoke.

"He's been there this whole time." The voice sounded kind, and young. She was a little surprised when she met his gaze.

He looks just like…

"My brother was very worried about you." Alphonse smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry," he began when he noticed the girl's slightly furrowed brow. "My name is Alphonse."

"You look like brothers" the girl replied. "I'm Keira."

"Nice to meet you, Keira."

"So… how long have I…" she began to trail off. Did she really want to know? And how did she end up here, anyways? Where 'here' was she had no idea. The curtains were still pulled shut. All she could see were beams of orange light peeking between the panels. She didn't know if the sun was coming up or going down.

"… about 2 days now," replied Al. He studied her face for a reaction, but he didn't get one.

I need to sit up. She had heard Alphonse's reply, but the full impact of it had yet to hit her. She wanted to get out of bed and stretch her legs.

"Umm…" she began to sit up, and then realized that her clothes were sitting folded on the ground near the door. She looked down at herself and only then realized that she was wearing a pair of shorts and a man's oversized striped dress shirt.

"Sorry… the doctors had to…"

"No problem." She quickly moved her hand to her chest. Is it still… yes, it was still there. She felt a little better. "Could you tell me where the washroom is? It has been two days, after all." She gave Al a quick smile.

Al was surprised at himself. Why hadn't he even thought of that before? "Sorry! It's right through here…" He led the girl out of the room and through the kitchen into the bathroom.

"Thanks." Keira closed the door quietly behind her and then rested her head against it and closed her eyes. Every ounce of her being wanted her to cry.

A flash of two nights ago entered her mind. She was running. The buildings beside her were too blurry to see. Then she saw a light… with a man standing under it. He had… swords? No, he didn't. She was wrong. He saved me.

What am I doing here? How did I get here? She turned around and faced herself in the mirror.

God. I look… terrible. Her shoulder-length wavy black hair was matted at the back from lying down so long. Her dark hazel eyes were tired. Her skin, although darker, still looked pallid somehow. Of course I look terrible. She lifted up the shirt she was wearing to inspect the wound. It was heavily bandaged. There was even a small clear plastic tube coming out of the bandages for drainage.

Suddenly Keira felt the urge to vomit. She bent over the sink, but nothing came. She steadied herself by placing her hands on the pedestal sink and closed her eyes… and waited.

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When Al entered the room again, he left the door slightly opened so Keira could come back inside.

He walked over to the window and threw open the curtains. Although the sun was nearly down, it let more light into the room. Then he walked over to the table next to where Ed was sleeping and switched it on.

"You can stop pretending to sleep now, brother," Alphonse whispered.

Without opening his eyes, Ed made a groaning noise. "What do you mean?"

"I could tell by your breathing. It slowed down. You wanted to hear us talking."

Ed opened his eyes and sat up. "Alright," he said with a sigh. "What time is it, anyways?"

"Umm…" Al turned his head instinctively towards where the clock was: on the shelf above the chair. However, it wasn't there anymore. "The clock is…"

"Oh yeah…" Al stood up, removed the chair cushion, and recovered the clock. "The ticking was driving me insane. It's 6:30." He placed the clock back on the shelf.

Ed's mind turned back to Keira. They needed to find out about her. But he didn't know where to begin. He didn't want to push her, either. And what do they tell her? She'll probably have more questions for us.

"Brother? What are you thinking about?" Alphonse's voice snapped Ed out of his daze.

"Just things…" Edward sighed. He hated not being more open with Alphonse. He found that he got this way after crossing the gate. He just wanted to protect him. Ever since he saw Al in his body again, he vowed that he would never let anything happen to him again. He knew that chasing after a maniac's bomb wasn't the safest prospect, but for now they were only searching through books.

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Keira's wave of sickness passed eventually. It seemed like she was standing there for hours. She turned the tap on and scrubbed her hands clean. Then she splashed some water on her face. The cool water revitalized her a little bit. It at least brought back some of the colour to her face.

She closed the tap and dried her hands on face on the small towel on the railing. After another quick glance at her face in the mirror, she turned and opened the door.

Before she entered the kitchen again, she clutched the pendant that was hanging around her neck.

When am I going to see you again?

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Ok, wow. That took a little longer than expected. I had troubles with this one. I didn't want to rush into Keira's backstory, though. Some of you have requested I take my time, so that is what I'll do! Haha!

Enjoy! (And please R/R)