Title: A Fangirl's Dream
Summary: Ivy has it rough. She's no anime fan or FMA fan. But when she somehow crosses the gate, she finds herself in the worst possible position: a protagonist of an Another World fic trope. And between the alchemy, automail, lack of plot knowledge, and struggling with her attraction to a pretty blonde mechanic, Ivy reluctantly teams up with the main characters in her journey to get home.
Pen Name: FanfictionIsMySideHustle

Ivy had seen her fair share of pregnancies growing up.

If it wasn't on whatever soap opera her mother was watching, it was involved in the occasional movie like Father of the Bride 2 or that one movie where Jennifer Lopez got artificially inseminated. Then there was sex ed and the awkwardness of learning things about the body and what ovaries and eggs were and how pregnancy worked.

Nothing, however, could prepare a girl for what it would be like when a woman's water broke in 1914. Especially when it was still storming outside and someone had to hop on a horse to get a doctor.

Suffice to say, Ivy was about ready to faint.

"Ohgodwe'refuckedwhatarewegonnado?!" She paced as everyone else seemed to be screaming around her.

"I don't know, the doctor's not here yet!" Edward clawed at his scalp, somehow able to hear her flurry of words. "Can't we just tell her not to push!?"

"But that could hurt the baby!" Paninya cried in response, biting her nails.

"We just have to do it!" A voice cut clearly through the panic. Winry stood tall, clenching her fists tightly.

"... Do what?"

"Deliver it."

Ivy quickly found herself screeching alongside her other panicked companions. "Are you serious!" Ridel looked clearly less than thrilled with the suggestion. "Do you have any experience delivering children!?"

"Not at all." Winry replied clearly as she put on a stray apron strewn across a table. "But we don't have time to wait for the doctor and this baby is coming whether we want it to or not." The blonde took a deep breath and grabbed a towel. "With everyone's help, I'll deliver this baby."

It was brief but despite the panic resonating inside her, Ivy could only think how cool Winry seemed in that moment before the blonde started barking out her commands. It was really now or never. "Ed and Al, boil some water! A lot of it! Paninya, gather as many towels as you can! Mr. Ridel, is there any alcohol for disinfectant!?"

"I-in the workshop!"

Winry stormed over to the workshop doors before turning around, "Ivy, put some drinking water by Ms. Satera's bedside!"

"Got it!" Ivy bit her lip as she made her way to the kitchen after the brothers. "We're doing this, we're actually doing this." She trembled, grabbing a bucket and filling it with water. "Do you two think things will be fine?" Ivy needed to fill the air with some sort of noise.

"All we can do is trust Winry right now." Edward muttered. His voice trembled despite his attempts to sound calm. "You probably know by now, but Winry comes from a family of doctors and would read through medical books like picture books the way Al and I did alchemy books." Yes, Ivy knew that. Winry had long since told Ivy about her parents being doctors called to aid during the Civil War and how they never returned. "She might have a casual understanding at best, but it's the best we have right now. Winry can do this."

Ivy stopped the faucet when the water lapped closely to the brim. "Yeah. She can." If anyone could do this, it was Winry. The thought wasn't as reassuring as Ivy hoped it could be as she made her way to Satera's bedside. "Don't worry, Ms. Satera, I know you don't have much of a choice but… we're gonna get through this." Ivy said as she placed the bucket as well as a mug on the dresser beside the bed.

The woman struggled to return a shaky grin as she clutched her husband's hand tightly, "at least our child will have an interesting birth story."

At least the woman could still crack jokes.

Ivy wasn't sure if she would even be able to do that herself if the places were swapped.

She turned to see Winry standing at the door but her blue eyes were wide and far, far away from where they both were. "Boil some water, disinfect the area… what else is there?"

"Win, relax." Ivy placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, smiling appreciatively when she could see three familiar faces standing behind the panicking engineer. "You can do this." They all said in unison.

"... Right." Winry nodded at last. "Ivy, Paninya, can you both give me a hand?"

Ivy's mind went blank.

Edward winced as another scream of pain came from behind the closed door.

It had realistically been only about five minutes since the girls had gone, ready to follow Winry's instructions in order to deliver the baby… But it felt like an unending cacophony of screaming that would never stop. "I know this sounds kinda pathetic, but right now… I'm scared to the core."

Alphonse clutched to him tightly, "yeah. Me too."

"I know we're not big believers in God." Edward mumbled when the screams temporarily subsided. "But maybe he can help us. Just this once."

Let the baby be born safely.

Let the mother be alright.

Help them do this.

Edward couldn't think of any more eloquent words than that as he clamped his hands over his ears. Not even that could block out the returning pained shouts Satera released.

I know I'm a sinner and committed a taboo and you'd never help me out ordinarily. But if you could help this family, I'd really appreciate it.

Please.

Edward was on his feet the moment the door finally creaked open hours later, Paninya stumbling out and falling to her knees. "The blood… all that blood. I can't do this anymore."

"H-hey, Paninya! What happened!?"But the girl just placed her face in her hands, trying to calm herself and gave no answer. Edward scowled as he looked inside to see Winry and Ivy slumped over themselves, Ivy more than making herself comfortable by lying on the floor. "Guys, what happened?" He couldn't look at Satera, not until he knew things were alright.

Not until he knew this wasn't another situation like Nina and Alexander.

Winry just wordlessly pointed at the bed and Edward gulped, knowing he couldn't put it off any longer. His heart was pounded furiously as blood rushed to his ears. Please be okay, please be o- Edward was more than relieved when a loud cry sliced through the air.

It was okay.

"It's okay!" Edward pumped his fists in the air.

"You really hung in there, Satera." Ridel sniffled, holding his son. "And thanks so much, Winry."

Winry finally looked calm enough to smile, though she still looked like she was still trying to process what had taken place. "Now we have to give him a bath." Winry said as she took off her apron. "Ivy, you okay down there?"

Ivy's eyes remained closed but she still raised a hand to give a shaky thumbs up, "just really wishing Akasha had told me about this."

"What?"

"That childbirth in person was horrifying to see in person." Ivy said quickly, covering her eyes. "I'm never having kids, ever. Not unless I can't feel anything. I'm just adopting cats."

Edward rolled his eyes at the girl's dramatics with a grin. "Still, this is so awesome! It's a real live baby. It's just so awesome!"

"You sound like a little kid, Ed." Winry snickered.

"But it is awesome!" Edward argued. From a completely alchemical standpoint, this was nothing short of a marvel. "What alchemy has been unable to do after hundreds of years of research, a woman can do in just 200 days!"

"It really takes all the beauty out of the mystery of life when you talk about it scientifically!" Winry glared with a huff.

"Occupational hazard." Edward quipped back without missing a beat, eyes still honed on the scene. "But still, this was awesome. Human beings are awesome." Ivy grumbled under her breath a disagreement but not even that could break the amazing feeling Edward felt surging through his body. Human beings really were awesome.

"What are you doing up, Ivy?"

Ivy nearly jumped out her skin at the sound of clinking metal and a tinny voice. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Ivy placed a hand over her chest, barely able to stop herself from all out screaming. She leaned against the door with a few hard breaths. "What are you doing up?"

"Well, I can't sleep." Alphonse replied with a look at one of his hands. "Not in this body anyway. And then I saw you about to leave. Where are you going?" Dominic had returned a few hours ago with a doctor and the clouds had cleared up. Everyone else had been sleeping, especially after a grueling set of hours like that. "You should really be resting now."

"I…" Ivy's thoughts surged through her mind quickly, not sure how to process the newest bit of information she had learned. "I was just gonna go outside and look at the stars. I can't sleep and the clouds cleared up so... " She trailed off for a few heartbeats. "Do you wanna come and sit outside with me? It'd be nice to have the company and I'm pretty sure we can find something dry to sit on."

"Sure." Alphonse replied warmly, following Ivy out the door. "My mom used to always say that the sky looks prettiest after a heavy shower."

Ivy took in the sight of the trails of stars lighting the sky into a celestial shade of dark blue. She felt small, insignificant, but felt a grand feeling in her chest that made her want to cry. "I'd say your ma was right, Alphonse." She said quietly, sitting on a stool. It was still damp but Ivy couldn't bring herself to care that much. She inhaled the crisp air and breathed in the sweet smell of wet earth. "There's no way I'd be able to see these stars back home, not unless we went way out in the countryside. The light pollution back home is crazy and the sky is always pitch black, save for a few really bright stars."

"It's like that in Central too." Alphonse took his own seat beside her. "It was a really big change from Resembool, going to these different cities. So I miss home a lot sometimes when we're traveling in places like Central. What about you? I know you probably miss your family and friends."

"I…." Ivy dug her fingernails into the wood of the table in between them. "Yeah. I miss it. It's definitely a lot more convenient with our technology. And it's easier to jog. I miss my friends. My mom." She held back a shiver when a cool breeze brushed her skin. "Sometimes I get really anxious for no reason and I try thinking about my friend, Akasha. I think about what she would do in my place. She'd be way better in this situation than me." Ivy muttered, briefly remembering the many times Akasha swooned about Edward and Alphonse. "She's a lot more suited for adventures and crazy crap happening, she just rolls with it. I feel like I'm just being passive in basically everything I do. Then I start thinking 'hey, you got this' and I hear some new story about someone and what they've gone through and suddenly I get all wound up. It's like… everyone in this world has something dark they're carrying. I get everyone has their own struggles but…. I don't even know where I'm going with this, I sound stupid."

"I don't think you sound stupid." Alphonse said when Ivy's mouth clamped shut with a sigh. "And I don't think it's that fair to compare yourself to everyone else when we come from different worlds. I don't think any of us would wish our stories on anyone else."

Ivy smiled but she wasn't sure if Alphonse would even see it considering the time of evening. "That's just 'cause you're a sweet guy, Al. Who knows about Ed, half the time he sounds like a corny villain."

"Haha, yeah." Alphonse chuckled. "But Brother means well. Usually."

"Sorry you can't sleep." Ivy said at last, avoiding looking at the young boy directly. "I know it might be pointless to say but… I am. You don't deserve what happened to you, you or your brother. I want you to get your body back as soon as possible." She stood up for a few seconds to give him a few pats on the head. "I wish there was a lot more that I could do for you."

The pause that followed was deafening and Ivy's ground her right foot into the gravel beneath it. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.

"I think you do a lot for me and Ed though."

"Al, please." Ivy tried to keep the wallowing self-pity she felt out of her tone. "I think we can confirm that I haven't done nearly enough in the few weeks we've known each other."

"But you do." Alphonse protested. "You helped Brother keep up with his automail maintenance and you'd always be there to cheer us up when we were upset, or tell Brother to eat. And you pat my head all the time." Ivy was about to offer a snort and say that a pat on the head isn't really the same as the other things Alphonse had listed when he added, "you were the first person to pat my head after I lost my body. It always helped me feel normal and like nothing ever changed."

"... oh Al." Ivy whispered, a hand creeping back up to rub the cold helmet one more time.

Alphonse leaned into the touch though Ivy wasn't sure if he really felt anything. "I never had a big sister, but if I ever had to have one, I'd want it to be you."

Ivy could barely contain the sniffle, "I mean you can always call me Big Sis, if you want."

"Big Sis, it is."

"And good luck with your training with your teacher." Ivy added quickly, not wanting the moment to end. "I'll fight her if you get too scared to face her."

Alphonse only laughed nervously, "I don't think anyone could beat my teacher in a fight."

"Only because she hasn't met Ivette Carter yet."

"I don't think you'll be able to complete your engineering training if my teacher turns you into a corpse, Big Sis."

"You know what, Alphonse? I don't appreciate the sass." Ivy snorted while Alphons chuckled. "You're gonna make Bis Sis cry."

"Sorry." The boy didn't sound sorry at all. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"And I'm glad you think you're a real guy again." The sudden exclamation Alphonse had felt so long ago but it was still fresh in Ivy's mind even if Alphonse was back to his usual self. "I'm glad Winry was there to smack some sense into you even if I have no idea where she got that wrench."

"Sorry for worrying you." Alphonse replied softly.

"It's fine." Ivy sighed with a final firm pat on Alphonse's head. "Just remember the next time stuff like that floats around in your head that they have literal pictures of you from when you were a kid. That alone should be enough proof you existed." There were so many pictures in the Rockbell home. Pictures of Alphonse fishing or reading books and even a picture of him asleep with Den curled up right on his head like a cat.

"I didn't even think of that."

Ivy held back a snort of disbelief. Whatever made Alphonse think those things must have really gotten to him if he completely forgot about his life's biography in photos. "You can think about it now then. There's gonna be a whole lot more pictures to be taken once you get your body back, I know you will." Ivy wasn't sure when, but Akasha wouldn't lie about something like that. Not with the amount of swooning she did about the series.

A peaceful silence swept over them again and another thought crept into Ivy's head. "Hey, Al."

"Yeah?"

"What happened on October 3rd?" Ivy could feel Alphonse freeze underneath her touch and wanted to kick herself from bringing it up. It was enough to bring Winry to tears just looking at the date, so obviously it must have been something bad. Still, the word vomit flowed out uninhibited. "Was it… the day you lost your bodies?" That was her most likely guess. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't wanna, sorry if I'm pokin' at shit you don't want poked."

"No it's-" Alphonse paused. "That was the day we burned our house down and left home."

Oh.

"We didn't want to hold ourselves back anymore. So… we burned it down so we wouldn't run back when our journey got hard."

Ivy rested her chin on the hand atop Alphonse's head. "Do you ever regret it?"

Alphonse never answered that question.

"Hey there, little guy! I'm your grandpa!"

"Well he's turned into a doting grandfather."

"Meh, I miss the cranky version."

Ivy swatted Edward's shoulder at his comment of disgust, slapping a hand over her mouth to stop a snort from escaping. "Oh come on, you were thinking it!" Edward glared.

"But you said it." Ivy replied neutrally when her near abrupt laughter subsided.

"You two stop it." Winry interrupted with an amused look.

The doctor stayed overnight, finishing his examinations thoroughly. "Both mother and child are in good physical condition." He said with a pleased smile, pushing up his glasses. "The post delivery process was even handled well." The bald man gave Winry a pleased smile. "Even adults get scared over being in charge of delivering children so you really are something else, Miss."

Winry's amusement turned to embarrassment as she shook her head adamantly, "n-no no! It was nothing really and everyone else chipped in!"

"Oh don't be so modest." Ivy elbowed her friend smoothly. "You did more than the rest of us. Just take your compliment in stride."

"Ivy." Winry hissed, red turning scarlet.

"Your friend is right, young lady." Dominic bowed from his chair. "I thank you for what you did for my family."

Winry hid her face in her hands, "now you're all making me blush!"

Edward grinned wickedly, "well since you're so grateful, what about it, Boss?" He slithered closely to the older man. "Why not take on an apprentice? Or two?"

"Nice try, but no." Came Dominic's immediate reply as he sat back up with a sharp look. "Don't misunderstand me. I'm grateful that you helped us by delivering the baby, but this is another matter altogether. I don't take on apprentices. And you both have families waiting for you back home. Young people shouldn't make their families worry."

Disappointed but not surprised. Ivy sighed. "He's probably right though." Ivy eyed Winry's saddened look, setting a hand on her shoulder. "Pinako's probably gonna be complaining until we go back to Resembool. She's a great engineer anyway."

Dominic fell from his stool with a thud. "... Pinako. From Resembool?"

Winry nodded with a confused expression, "yeah, that's my grandmother."

Ivy could cringe as she saw the full out fear on the man's face as she scooted away even further. "P-Pinako Rockbell's grandchild." Dominic gulp, clutching a scar on his chin.

"Um…" Winry took a step forward with a raised brow. "Did something happen between you and Granny or something?"

"Don't ask me anything!" Dominic spat, holding a hand to stop her from saying anything else. "You're just gonna reopen my old wounds! The memories- they're too awful!" Dominic shuddered and Ivy could only imagine what he was thinking about. Christ, Pinako, what did you do to this guy to make him completely lose his cool at your name? It was honestly quite admirable. "That wild woman! The Pantheress of Resembool!"

"The what?!" Edward and Alphonse gasped.

"She even had a title?!" Ivy thought back to the short old lady. What a legend.

"I-in any case." Dominic cleared his throat and got back on his feet. "I don't accept apprentices. And now that I know that you're both affiliated with that woman, it makes me want to take you on even less. What I mean is- ahem." Dominic sighed in defeat, setting his hands on Ivy and Winry's heads respectively. "If you must be trained, then I suppose I can introduce you to an accomplished engineer at the base of the mountain who's been looking to take some people on."

Ivy looked at Winry with a grin. "Can we come by to watch you work sometimes too?" She asked, hopeful.

"Hmph." Dominic gruffed, looking back at his newly delivered grandson. "If you're just gonna get in my way, don't bother. But…" he scratched the back of his head. "I don't mind you coming over if you wanna visit my grandchild. And the pickpocket can come too, if she changes her ways."

Ivy sighed as the train Edward and Alphonse barely managed to board became smaller and smaller the further it traveled into the distance. Winry panted heavily beside her, "they're gone." She said when she caught her breath. "It's gonna be a lot quieter again." She almost missed the nagging and it hadn't even been a minute since they took off. Hell, she was still at the station.

"Well, as quiet as you can get in a place like Rush Valley." Paninya chirped with a wide grin. "It's never quiet here."

Ivy slapped her hands on her hips, "I welcome the noise! I'm gonna get all the training I can get with this Garfield guy that Dominic told us about." With gusto, she turned around and began walking to the station's exit. She'd finally get proper training and actual customers coming through the door rapidly. Not that I'll have a lot to start but I'll get there.

"Garfiel, Ivy." Winry corrected with a nudge. "You don't wanna make him mad before Dominic even introduces us because you messed up his name." Dominic would be coming to town himself to make introductions with who could be their prospective teacher. Winry had long since been excited. "Atelier Garfiel's really well-known for their intricate metal work, so this is really exciting!"

Paninya followed after them. "And he makes really great tea!"

"Sounds like quite the character." Ivy hummed happily, a warm breeze passing through in a timely manner. Things really were falling into place.

"Oh!" Winry gasped. "Ivy, we could get matching outfits!"

"Sure, if you start doing morning jogs with me." Ivy clicked her tongue without missing a beat, not missing how Winry's face fell at the reply. "Building an automail alone does not build muscle, Winry Rockbell."

Paninya chortled as Winry slumped over, "I can't believe you're making me do this with you."

"For your health."

"You're trying to kill me slowly."

Author's Note

And Ed and Al are off! This chapter was meant to come out a bit sooner since, realistically, I already had it written out. I have quite a few written in advance, but something about this chapter felt incomplete so I tweaked it a bit for a while until coming out with a satisfactory chapter. Anyway, it was fun writing them while I had them for the handful of chapters they were part of but don't worry, they'll be back in soon. Can't talk anymore about it than that, but let's just say some surprises will be coming up then. Until then, let's have some fun with Winry and Ivy's journey in Rush Valley with Mr. Garfiel.

Will Elizabetta finally be created?

Will Paninya regain the trust of the locals?

And will Ivy and Winry get those matching mechanic jumpsuits?

We'll be finding out during the rest of the Rush Valley Arc, that's for certain.

Read, Review, and stay Chill too. 'Til next time, readers.

CallMeAnon: Lowkey... kinda did my best to skip over it cough but I hope the rest was satisfactory for ya!

Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed the binge! I wanted to switch the focus for the story as far as an OC's interest when coming to world of FMA, so I'm really glad it paid off in the end since a lot of people seem to appreciate it. I know I put myself in a bit of a rough spot in a way by having her interests both romantically and career-wise stem away from Ed and Al since that means I have to rely on my own creativity to make chapters and scenes without Ed and Al's influence on the plot assisting me, but it's worth the practice!

Vendicor: I'm glad you stuck around to even get to chapter 14 since your tastes in OC fics don't really tend to lean towards this sort and really happy that in the end you've enjoyed the ride so far! I won't lie and say that I feel or felt the same about OC x Canon Character fics because I know that I have read a crap ton in my highlight of weebary and that while I've majorly grown out of that phase, I do like re-reading those fics that I loved so much as a kid and seeing how my tastes have changed or how the writing hold's up. They helped me wanna write and eventually, years later, I'm finally writing and planning to actually finish what I started then! So I'm pumped you like it! Originally this was, when I was in my weeb phase, a hardcore EdxOC campaign but I'm happy with the final choices with it being Winry instead since I enjoyed writing their interactions so much. So it makes me really happy to hear you find their chemistry realistic and enjoyable T^T, I was aiming for stead old married couple vibes with them since their more emotionally intuitive characters. Anyway, I'll stop the ramble! Thanks for sticking around!