Chapter 7

Ed didn't like trains, he decided. The ride to Central was long and boring. He missed Roy. It wasn't a revelation he liked, but it was one that was kind of inevitable. Staring at the empty seat beside him, he couldn't avoid the pangs of loneliness that hit his chest. Roy somehow made Ed feel like he wasn't alone. He wondered what Roy would think if he knew how Ed felt? Ed leaned his head against the window, and watched the scenery go by. Would he still miss Roy so much in Central? He hoped not.

Leaning his head on the window, Ed's pride was beginning to fall. Why had he ever left home? Maybe he wasn't going to amount to much, but he had friends there. No one at the orphanage looked at him with pity the way the other passengers did. He kept hoping for the best, but all he saw was the worst. Would Hughes be like this too?

As an alternative to his morose mood, Ed decided to read his father's journal. Pissed was better than depressed any day. He thumbed to one of the early entries absently.

May 8th

Today is our eleventh wedding anniversary. I am very sorry that I'm not at home with Trisha and the boys right now. It would have been nice to buy her some of those flowers she liked...

Ed flipped forward. He didn't want to read about his mother. Remembering how sad she'd looked made his blood boil with rage.

June 13th

I went to the local park this morning, and saw a man selling little toy ships. I wonder if Edward would like one? Alphonse is still to young, but at five, I think Edward would enjoy one. He reminds me of myself when I was a boy...

That was more than Ed could stand. It took all of his will not to throw the journal from the window. He didn't understand why Mustang would care if he read what his father wrote or not. It wasn't like anything was going to change.

God damn Roy Mustang! He was the cause of all of this. He made Ed want things that he had managed to push aside for so long. Why did he have to want so much more now? He was such a fool! No more. Ed was going to stop thinking about it all. There was no going back, but that didn't mean he had to give in. Ed was stronger than that.

It was raining when Ed made it to Central finally. As the train pulled into the station, he waited until the other passengers had gone ahead of him to leave his seat. He watched as they met up with friends and family on the platform hugging and kissing like they hadn't seen each other in years. Truthfully, Ed felt a little lonely. For some reason, Roy Mustang's face appeared in his mind. This is ridiculous, he thought. He scanned the crowd for someone in uniform, but couldn't see anyone. Had Major Hughes forgotten him?

"Edward Elric?" a voice inquired from behind. The man standing there was tall and thin with dark hair and bright green eyes behind square rimmed glasses.

"That's me," Ed replied. "So you're Major Hughes?"

The man nodded. "Roy said you looked young," Hughes with a smirk.

"Who are you calling kid-sized?" Ed mumbled angrily.

Major Hughes ignored him. "So how much more luggage do you have?"

Ed flushed a little, and nodded toward the suitcase. "This is it. "

"Alright. Let me take that for you, and let's be off." Because Hughes didn't have a pitying air about him, Ed let him take the bag. Hughes turned back toward him. "Oh, and I hope you don't mind. Mustang told me that your were interested in seeing about getting a prosthetic, and I got you an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. Is that alright?"

"Thanks," Ed said trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach.

The two got into Hughes car, and Ed noticed a baby doll in the back seat. "Do you have kids?" Ed asked.

To his surprise, Hughes pulled the car over and pulled a photo album. "ISN'T SHE JUST TOO SUPER CUTE? THIS IS ELYCIA AT FIVE MINUTES OLD. AND THIS IS ELYCIA AT TEN MINUTES OLD."

Two hours later, Ed was standing outside of Hughes' home. The neat two story town house looked cozy. A thin woman with short auburn hair appeared on the front porch holding a little girl in pigtails. The woman smiled at him. "You must be Edward. I'm Gracia Hughes and this is Elycia. Welcome to our home."

Ed instantly liked Gracia. "Thank you for letting me stay. I really do appreciate it."

"Nonsense," she said with a laugh. "I wouldn't send anyone to live with Roy."

"Roy's not that bad," Hughes chimed in as he took his daughter into his arms. The little girl giggled and squirmed. "What do you say we go in and get you settled?"

The Hughes's home was cozy and neat inside. Of course, pictures of Elycia were everywhere. Hughes led Ed to a room on the first floor. Like the rest of the house was neat and inviting. Though simple, the room was still much more than he had at the orphanage. Ed turned toward Major Hughes. "This is great."

Hughes cocked a brow. "Well, you're welcome here as long as you like. Dinner will be ready in a little while. Go ahead and rest up if you'd like."

"Could I wash up?"

"Of course. The bathroom is right next door."

At the orphanage, they didn't have running water or indoor plumbing. The luxury of running water was something that the orphanage couldn't afford, and Ed had little experience with. He leaned against the sink and tentatively turned on the hot water. Smiling, he thought about sinking into a relaxing bath...one that didn't require hauling buckets of water to the large wooden tub in the kitchen or the fear of one of the girls walking in on him. A bath would have to wait though. Ed splashed warm water on his face, and combed his fingers through his hair.

Ed stared at his reflection for a long time. The young man staring back at him looked younger than eighteen. His long blonde hair flowing over his shoulders made him look younger still. Sometimes he let Winry pull his hair back in a thick braid, but he couldn't manage to tame it on his own. There were days when he was sorely tempted to get a hair cut.

When Ed made his way back to the living room, he caught a glimpse of Major Hughes lying on the floor with his daughter on his chest. "Daddy," he heard the little girl say, "how come Ed doesn't have two hands and two feet like me and you?"

Hughes hummed thoughtfully. "Well, baby, sometimes bad things happen and people get hurt. Ed got hurt when he was a little boy."

"Can Ed still play?" Elycia asked.

Ed decided to step out of the hall, and smiled at the little girl. "Of course, I can. And I can do magic," he told her.

Elycia's eyes were large. "You can?"

Pulling a coin out of his pocket, Ed sat down on the floor. Years ago, his mother had shown him this little slight of hand. It was something that his father had taught her, and it made her happy to see her son learning the trick. In one fluid motion, Ed made the coin "disappear." Elycia squealed with delight as it reappeared behind her ear.

"How'd you do that?" she asked excitedly.

Playing it cool, Ed shrugged. "I'm magic."

Hughes pushed up his glasses, and grinned. "Looks like you made a friend."

Dinner that night was interesting. Ed felt odd--like an intruder--at the table with the family. The Hughes definitely were a real family. Major Hughes chatted with his wife about work and cut up his daughter's meat for her. Had his father ever been like this? Ed couldn't remember eating a meal with his father. A pang of loss struck Ed's heart as he recalled all of the times he had sat around the table with Al and their mother.

"Ed, don't you like your food?" Mrs. Hughes asked.

Snapping out of his haze, Ed smiled. "Oh, everything is wonderful. I'm just kind of tired."

Major Hughes chuckled. "Hawkeye told me that you and Roy had to share a room. I don't imagine he's a good roommate."

"Nope," Ed replied shoving his fork in his mouth. Roy had been too good of a roommate!

That night Ed excused himself early. He honestly was exhausted from the trip. He hadn't allowed himself to sleep on the train, fearing that he would dream. Now, Ed hardly could keep his eyes open. Vaguely, he thought that the bed felt oddly empty. He missed Roy. The sleep that claimed him was so deep that he didn't dream, and for that, he was immensely thankful.

Ed spent the next morning playing with Elycia. The tiny girl reminded him of Nina, and he thought about asking if Nina could visit. Elycia was constantly babbling about her Daddy. It seemed she was just as enthralled with her father as he was with her. She chattered on as she played tea party, and once again, Ed found himself thinking about his own father.

Around lunch time, Major Hughes returned home in uniform. "How are my girls?" he asked kissing his wife.

Gracia smiled. "We're doing good. I have to say, I may never let Ed go. He and Elycia played all morning. I even had time to bake a cake."

"It's nothing," Ed said humbly. "I'm used to having a group of kids around all day."

Major Hughes took a seat. "Are you homesick?"

"A little," Ed admitted, "but I'm glad to be trying something new."

Hughes nodded. "I confirmed your appointment for this afternoon. Can you be ready after we eat?"

"Sure." Ed once again felt the butterflies rise in his stomach.

After the meal, Ed felt numb as he rode to the prosthetist's office with Hughes. Standing on his own two feet was a dream that Ed had pushed away for so many years now that this barely seemed real. What would it feel like to walk...not hobble or hop along, but to walk? Then again, what if the specialist told him the same thing that the doctor had? Ed couldn't let this control him. He had to...

"Ed, are you going to get out or are we just going to sit here?" Hughes asked softly.

"Oh, yeah." Ed was glad his crutch didn't shake the way his real leg did as he got out of the car.

The prosthetist's office was a simple brownstone building with a ramp out front in place of steps. Ed spotted a young man coming from the front door with a hook in place of his left hand. Immediately, he felt a surge of hope. "Let's go," he said softly.

The receptionist in the front office led them back to an examination room at the end of the hall. A strange looking contraption with two sets of parallel bars took up almost an entire wall, and there were all sorts of models of the human body around the room .

Hughes shifted uncomfortably. "Do you want me to wait with you?"

Ed shook his head. "This is something I'd kind of like to do on my own."

"Alright. I will come back in about an hour or so."

It didn't take long for a thin man with glasses to come into the room. He was younger than Ed had been expecting and walked with a slight limp. "Edward Elric, I am Lujon Taylor." He offered his hand.

Ed smiled nervously. "Nice to meet you."

Lujon took a seat. "Please take off you coat and shirt. I'd like to get a look at your residual arm."

"Alright," Ed agreed. He slid off his jacket, and began to unbutton his shirt slowly and deftly. Getting it back on without his button hook was going to be a bitch, but oh well.

Lujon adjusted his glasses, and gently began prodding at Ed's stump. He sighed. "As I'd expected, it seems that you don't have enough left for me to give you a functional arm."

Ed nodded. "I figured as much. I'm pretty good with one hand."

"I don't doubt that one bit. Have you ever given any thought to a cosmetic arm? I know some amputees feel more comfortable wearing them in public. Colonel Mustang seemed to think that you may be interested."

"You talked to Mustang?" Ed demanded. Hadn't Hughes been the one to set this up.

"Of course, the colonel was very adamant that I see you immediately. He must care about you a great deal," Lujon said earnestly. "The military's stance on who I see is quite strict. I'm actually not allowed to see you at all, in fact. The colonel convinced me that you deserve this chance, and I know what it's like to go without." He leaned forward and lifted his pant leg to reveal a wooden leg.

"Were you hurt in the war?" Ed asked.

Lujon shook his head. "No, I was born this way. I was almost thirteen when a prosthetist changed my life, and I wanted to do the same for others. The military only pays me to do what I love. Now, let's see your leg stump."

The look on Lujon's face was much more optimistic this time. "This we can work with. You've lost a great deal of muscle, but that can be rebuilt over time with practice. You've got most of your thigh left, and that is good. I think you will be able to walk fairly well."

Ed let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I'm only returning the favor given to me. I heard that Major Hughes would be back in an hour. Would you be willing to stay longer so that I can get a cast made of your leg? I'd give you ride home."

Ed nodded. "I want to walk as soon as possible."

Lujon made a mixture of plaster, and applied it to Ed's stump. All the while, he explained the process of fitting an artificial limb. It wasn't merely sticking on a wooden leg as Ed had figured. Lujon needed to have exact measurements to ensure the best fit to Ed's body, or else he wouldn't be able to walk without extreme pain. First, Lujon would fashion a leather socket to that would be strapped onto Ed's stump using the plaster cast as a guide. Then, he would custom build a leg that would be the same length as Ed's natural leg.

"Lujon?"

Both men turned to the door where a voluptuous brunette stood. "Ed, I'd like you to meet my wife Laura. Laura, this is the young man I was telling you about."

Laura smiled. "I hope you know that you've come to the best."

Ed nodded. "I just realized that."

"Well, Ed," Lujon said, "you are done for the day. I will have your limbs ready in about a week."

"Thank you."

Back at the Hughes' home, Ed felt a renewed sense of hope for his time in Central. Now, wherever he went, he would be going there on his own two feet.