Baby Days
Disclaimer: I do not own FMAB
Ok, so a few things first. You all know I didn't post anything last week, and the reason for that was not only because this chapter is massive, but also because since the end of the quarter is coming up, in both of my classes, I have major projects going in each class, so that has been taking up a lot of my time, so it took me a while to get this chapter done. Thankfully, i have only 2 days in class next week because of the holidays, so I will have more time to work on my homework and my story. Also, I'm going back to posting on Saturday's because my Friday's will be busy again.
Ok, not that that's been covered and explained please
Enjoy.
The Next Day
Winry was not the only one in the family to have a baby on the way, as May was also expecting her and Al's second child, which of course elicited teasing from their teammates.
"Did you guys plan this or something?" Marks laughs at the slightly amused and annoyed brothers.
"No, but I don't think it came as such a surprise." Ed snorts.
"Why do you say that?" Al asks.
"It's obvious. We were at war for almost two years, during the entire pregnancy and first year of both of our sons. So one of the first few things when we got to our respective homes was…" Ed stops giving his brother a slight smirk.
"Well, when you put it like that, then yeah, your right, no big shocker." Al replies nervously.
"But you know what this means men?" Makuto says.
"What?" Ed and Al ask.
"You get to be there the whole ride through the emotions and crazy cravings." Makuto chuckles.
"True." Both men shrug.
"How can you be so nonchalant about it?" Marks asks.
"Neither of us were with our wives during their pregnancy the first time, so honestly, I want to be there." Ed replies, earning a nod of agreement from Al. They continue on with their work, the day remarkably quiet, and before they knew it, it was time to leave.
"Hey brother, if you guys want, you can go out to dinner with May, Kaio and me." Al offers.
"Thanks, but Winry, Joseph and I were going to go get Joseph his own furniture." Ed replies.
"But he's barely a year old." Al replies.
"He's fifteen months old. Remember, my son was born a month before yours was. Wait…" Ed says, getting a perplexed look.
"I know. What?" Al asks.
"Ok…Winry is about a week and a half pregnant, which means she conceived shortly after I got home. In about two hundred days, or nine months give or take, it'll be March, since its June now…thankfully I remembered our second anniversary…damn, somehow my second child will be born in March." Ed spoke. Al stood for a moment.
"That also means my second child will be born in March." Al replies.
"Well damn." Ed laughs before he gets into his car and drives home.
"I need to change first, then we can go." Ed says as he walks passed his wife and made sure to be careful of his toddling son.
"Daddy, I want that room." Joseph points his chubby little fingers to the room across from his parents.
"Good son. You know you can still come sleep with mom and me if you get scared." Ed says, taking a few moments to talk to his son.
"I no get scared. I has doggy." Joseph says as he holds up the stuffed dog. Ed smiles and pats his sons head before going and getting changed. Walking out in black slacks, a black vest and white shirt, he smiles as his son rocks on his heels impatiently. Taking Winry's hand in his as Joseph held onto his mother's they walk out to the car.
"I get to choose?" Joseph asks.
"Yes." Winry replies as they drive to the store.
"I like red." Joseph replies.
"We'll look for something red." Ed replies. They arrive at the store and upon walking into it were honed in on by a representative.
"Hello, can I help you?" The all too perky representative asks with her creepy smile.
"Evening, we're looking for a toddler bed set." Winry says.
"How old is the little darling?" The woman asks, looking at Joseph.
"Fifteen months." Winry replies.
"And he's walking already." The woman says with false exasperation.
"Well, most children are supposed to be walking by the time their fourteen months." Winry says.
"What's your name little one?" The woman asks, stooping closer to Joseph. He remains silent and hides behind his father. He was rarely shy, so this was new.
"Odd. Anyway, we're also looking for a red comforter set too." Winry says. The woman nods and shows them the way, Winry in the lead, with Ed and Joseph trailing behind her.
"The man who's with you, he has to be the father." The woman says.
"Yes." Winry replies.
"Why is he so quiet and serious looking?" the woman asks.
"Well, he's a colonel in the military and an alchemist." Winry replies.
"Oh, so he's one of those state certified men. You must have quite a bit of money?" the woman asks.
"Yes, and that's none of your business ma'am. Show us all the sets, not just the super expensive ones." Winry replies charmingly. The woman's shoulders slouch before she perks up again and shows them the twelve sets they had available.
"Well, which one do you like Joseph?" Winry asks her son. He looks them over again, his brows knitting with thought, making him look even more like is father.
"Papa, up." Joseph says. Ed kneels down to him and picks him up so that he could look at the higher up ones again and then points to the third one on the row, the one that his parents were secretly hoping he would choose. The man nearby helped Ed to get the box and put it in the carrier. They also found the mattress for it, as well as pillows, and the bed set and comforter.
"Need anything else?" the woman asks.
"Yeah, a dresser and hangers for his closet." Winry replies as they continue to walk through the store until they found what they needed. Once they were done at the checkout they went back home.
"I'll get it built tomorrow." Ed says as they drive.
"Alright." Winry replies.
2 days later
Ed woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Joseph rustling the blankets.
"Joseph, what's wrong son?" Ed asks, his eyes half way open.
"Bad dream." Joseph whimpers. Ed leans over and picks up his son.
"Wanna stay with me and mommy?" Ed asks.
"Yeah." Joseph says.
"Remember, if you need to go potty, wake me up." Ed says.
"Ok." Joseph says. Winry had insisted that they start to potty train him now, and while it was still early, he was doing well. He crawls into bed and snuggles right between his parents, his stuffed dog in his arms. Once he was asleep, Winry turns her head and saw that Ed was still up.
"He had a nightmare." Ed says quietly.
"I know, I heard." Winry replies just as quietly.
"Good thing we placed his room across the hall from ours." Ed muses quietly.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want him hurting himself trying to get down the stairs if he had a nightmare." Winry says as she carefully rolls onto her other side.
"Yeah. But for now, we should get back to sleep." Ed suggests. Winry yawns and nods in agreement before they both fell back to sleep.
2 weeks later
May and Winry were enjoying the afternoon, they had finished cutting the metal from its large sheets into easier to handle sheets a while ago and stocking it on the shelves and now watched as their sons play blissfully.
"So Al informed me that you and Ed were potty training Joseph already, and I thought it was a splendid idea." May says as she sips her tea.
"Yeah, the earlier they learn, in a positive environment, the better." Winry replies as she looks over to see them playing with the blocks.
"No, I build house, you play car." Kaio says.
"Oh." Joseph says as he set down the wooden car and carefully stacks the blocks into a house.
"I'm hoping for a girl this time. I mean, I love my son, I just want a girl too." May says.
"Likewise. Out of curiosity, how many children do you want?" Winry asks.
"Four. And you?" May asks.
"Ed seems to be under the impression that we'll have six children." Winry says, watching as May chokes on her tea.
"You alright?" Winry asks, taking May's cup from her and resting her hand on her back.
"I'm fine, I just wasn't expecting that." May giggles, though still kind of raspy.
"Neither did I." Winry sighs.
"But seriously, six?" May asks.
"It's not like we can't afford it." Winry points out.
"As true as that is, that'll be hell." May replies.
"I know that." Winry says with a small smile as she looks back to the two boys as they play.
"It will be nice though have another child. Aside from the sleepless nights, you learn so much from children, it's kinda scary." May giggles.
"No kidding right." Winry says as she places her hand on her small stomach. The day went by faster than expected and before she knew it Ed was home and May and Kaio had been picked up.
"I take it today was slow." Ed asks.
"Yeah. We made a few appointments and check-up appointments for the next week, but other than that, nothing much." Winry says.
"Well that's good. How did the play date go for the boys?" Ed asks as he shrugs off the jacket.
"Well. May nearly chocked to death." Winry replies.
"Over what?" Ed asks, quirking an eyebrow as he picks up a crashed out Joseph off the couch.
"Well, I asked her how many children she wanted and she said four, and then reciprocated the question to me and well I told her you were under the impression of six, and she then proceeded to choke on her tea." Winry says. Ed couldn't help from chuckling.
"That would explain it then." Ed says as his son was limp in his arms, sleeping without a care in the world.
"He's tuckered out from playing. He'll wake up to the smell of food, just like his father." Winry teases. Ed rolls his eyes at her before she disappears into the kitchen. As he holds his peacefully sleeping son, he couldn't help but smile at the prospect of holding yet another small life in his arms. Maybe another boy, or perhaps their first girl, but either way would suffice for him, though he knew one consequence of having a daughter.
He stood and carefully positions his son in his arms before walking into the kitchen where Winry busied herself with dinner.
"Lord help me if we have a daughter." Ed chuckles quietly.
"Why do you say that?" Winry asks.
"Another female that'll have me wrapped around her little finger, and probably with the same temper as her mother." Ed smirks. Winry only smiles mischievously as she continued to prepare dinner, now hoping more than ever for a baby girl.
2 Months Later
Ed stands outside the bathroom door with Joseph leaning against his leg with a worried look at the noises coming from within the bathroom.
"Mommy?" Joseph asks.
"Her tummy hurts." Ed replies to his worried son. He was also worried as she was in the bathroom emptying her stomach.
"E-ed." She whimpers weakly. Ed opens the door and went over to her side, rubbing her back while wetting a washcloth. Joseph toddles in and grabs a towel, handing it to his father. Ed smiles and takes the towel before kneeling down and turning Winry's head to him.
"I look and feel awful." Winry grumbles as Ed wipes her mouth.
"Hun, trust me, I've seen worse." Ed says calmly before patting the sweat from her forehead with the towel and then flushing the toilet. Carefully, Ed picks up Winry bridal style and carries her out to the living room and places her on the couch, Joseph follows the entire way.
"Mommy ok?" Joseph asks.
"For now yes." Ed says before going to the kitchen and getting her a glass of water. Returning to the living room he hands it to Winry; smiling up at him appreciatively, she drinks the water, trying to get the foul taste out of her mouth.
"Feeling better?" Ed asks.
"Little bit." Winry replies.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Ed asks.
"Nothing too rich or sweet." Winry replies.
"So some lightly buttered toast, eggs over easy, and bacon?" Ed asks.
"And orange juice." Winry adds.
"I'll get Joseph's food ready too." Ed says as he walks to the kitchen to make breakfast. Joseph walks over to his mother and pulls himself up on the couch with her.
"Why mommy sick?" Joseph asks curiously.
"Well Joseph, mommy has a baby growing in her tummy, and that can make mommy sick." Winry explains. Joseph stares at her small stomach before carefully putting his hand on her stomach and then laying his face on it.
"Be nice to mommy, sissy." Joseph says.
"How do you know it's not brother?" Winry asks, quirking an eyebrow. Joseph shrugs before just lying there peacefully with his mother.
1 Month Later
Winry and May, despite their current condition, were busy as ever with their automail and prosthetic business. Currently they were cutting metal for a client next week as their sons play behind the front counter. It was quiet as the young boys play with their stuffed toys when they hear someone enter, walk across the room, and stand by the counter.
"So, she and the alchemist did marry. The bitch, well, this should teach her." An angry female voice says before she places something on the counter. Joseph toddles around to the edge of the counter and the woman looks over and stares, shock and anger spreading on her face.
"Ok, it is way too quiet in here, so I know something is up." Winry walks out, her belly only starting to show. She stops and looks at the all too familiar woman.
"What an unpleasant surprise to see you here Elna." Winry sneers.
"I find it more unpleasant that you and that stud of a man married. Honestly, I would've been better for him. And my, you've let yourself go." Elna says.
"I'm pregnant, not fat." Winry says with a sweet smile as Elna grimaces.
"Who's the brat?" Elna asks as the small boy inches around the counter. Just then, as if it were timed, Ed walks into the shop.
"I have a break and decided to…what the hell is she doing here?" Ed growls. Elna ignores him as she and Winry size each other up. Ed notices the bottle on the counter, walks over in front of Elna and grabs said bottle.
"Did you put this here?" Ed asks.
"So what if I did. You still haven't answered my question yet Winry." Elna replies.
"Because anyone with half a brain can see exactly who he is. He's mine and Ed's firstborn son." Winry growls. The color from Elna's face drains before she grabs the bottle from Ed's hands and then hurls it at Joseph. Just as it was about to make impact, Winry grabs him and a barrier shot out of the ground. Next thing Winry and Joseph hear was the sounds of Elna screaming as Ed throws her to the ground and cuffs her. May had run out from all the commotion and Kaio was firmly seated behind the counter with wide scared eyes.
"Do I want to know what's going on?" May asks as she picks up her startled son.
"Nothing much, just tying up some loose ends. Anyway, I'm going to be heading back to command, you two enjoy your day, try not to work too hard, and have Natalie clean that up please." Ed said before leaving with Elna who protested the whole time out. Natalie walks out from the back with a look of confusion prevalent on her face.
"Do I even wanna know what all the noise was about?" Natalie asks.
"Just a little problem from the past." Winry replies.
"Sounded like an angry woman." Natalie says.
"Well, there was an angry woman here." Winry says as Natalie cleans up the mess on the floor.
"Let me take a wild guess. This woman was under the impression that Ed was totally using you so he could get to her and that she would be his wife, not you. She tried all kinds of things to embarrass you two but still obviously lost." Natalie says.
"Hit the nail on the head there Natalie." Winry giggles.
"Kinda guessed. Your husband seems like the type of man who's very loyal to those he cares about, but has a knack for drawing attention and trouble to himself." Natalie smiles.
"Pretty much." Winry laughs as she picks up Joseph.
"Well, I'll get a mop and make sure there is no glass or liquid at all." Natalie says.
"Alright, May and I can go make lunch and the boys can take their naps while we eat. I think a break is deserved." Winry suggests.
"Yes ma'am." Natalie says before Winry and May left for the kitchen.
1 month later
Among the many things Ed had learned being around his pregnant wife, one thing still boggled his mind, why did pregnant women have such odd and sometimes gross cravings.
"The pickles, the tuna, and the sour cream made sense, what's throwing me is the cinnamon bread and strawberry jam." Ed comments as Winry munches on her lunch. It was one of Ed's few days off, and usually, he likes to lounge during the day and go out at night with both his wife and son.
"I'm six months pregnant, it doesn't have to make sense." Winry pouts. Ed chuckles at her antics and rolls his eyes as Joseph looks at his mother's sandwich like it was cursed.
"Icky." Joseph groans. Winry rolls her eyes at Joseph before finishing off her sandwich. The house was nice and warm considering it was so large and it was December.
"Want to go sledding Joseph?" Winry asks, earning a big smile from Joseph.
"Want me to call May and Al and see if they want to come along with Kaio?" Ed asks.
"You're getting to good at predicting what I'm going to ask." Winry giggles in reply. Ed made the call to his brother and soon enough they were all driving to the park, snow still falling from the sky once they arrived. Joseph was smiling wide at the sight of snow.
"Mommy go with?" Joseph asks as he hops out of the car once it was parked, the snow crunching beneath his boots with his landing. For only being about two, he was very well coordinated.
"Sorry honey, but momma can't. It'll make the baby in her tummy mad." Winry says to her overzealous son.
"Oh. Ok. Daddy?" Joseph asks with pleading eyes.
"Of course!" Ed chuckles, picking up his son, making him let out an excited squeal as they race up the hill.
"No fair Ed!" Al hollers as he and Kaio took off to catch up.
"Men can be so much like children." May laughs.
"Yes, but at least they can entertain the boys since we can't at the moment." Winry giggles as she watches Ed and Joseph sled down the medium high hill.
"Again!" Joseph giggles once they slow to a stop.
"Same hill or the big one?" Ed asks as he points to the hills, moving so Al and Kaio could slow to a stop.
"Same." Joseph giggled before they started their trek back up the hill. Joseph held onto his father's hand so that he wouldn't fall.
"Papa, why do you have a shiny leg?" Joseph asks before they sit down on the sled. Ed let out a sigh as he kept them at the top of the hill.
"I did something bad and got hurt." Ed replies.
"Oh. Ok. How bad?" Joseph asks.
"Really bad." Ed replies.
"Ok. No do again." Joseph says, making Ed smile before pushing off and going down the hill. They didn't see the little bump that not only caused them to get a little airborne, but also caused them to crash into the white fluffy snow. Joseph pops up from the snow to see his mother running over with a concerned look on her face, and found that he was wrapped in father's arms who follows suit and pops up out of the snow.
"Are you two alright?" Winry asks in a panicked tone.
"I think theirs snow in my ears, but other than that fine. How about you son?" Ed asks, looking down at Joseph.
"Again!" Joseph giggles before fully standing up and getting out of the snow bank.
"Yup, he's your son." Winry sighs as Ed laughs.
"How about we take a break for now and have a snow ball fight with Uncle Al and cousin Kaio?" Ed suggests as Al and Kaio slid to a landing, much more graceful than theirs.
"Ok." Joseph chirps before they walk over to Al and Kaio.
"I think that's a great idea brother, just let's take it easy on the boys, they're only toddlers you know." Al says.
"Ok, then we won't use alchemy." Ed says, Al nods his head in agreement while their sons look completely confused. Ed and Al showed the boys how to make a snowball, which Winry and May thought was completely adorable. Joseph and Kaio quickly picked up what snowball fighting was and before they knew it, the two tots were whirling the tightly packed snow at each other with squeals and shrills of delight as they played with their family.
2 hours later
Ed drove himself, Winry, and a very tired Joseph back to their home.
"Looks like someone is ready for a nap." Winry smiles as Joseph nodded off in the back of the car. His cheeks were still flushed, his nose bright red, and the wet spots where the snow had melted already, his eyes were drooping with exhaustion.
"Did you have fun son?" Ed asks.
"Yeah." Joseph giggles tiredly. They park in front of their home and Ed carries his tired son in and made sure Winry was safe and didn't slip on any of the ice as they walk up to their home. They help Joseph out of all his winter clothes and help change the tot into his pajamas before placing him in his little red bed, stuffed dog on the pillow before Joseph collapsed with sleep.
"He's simply perfect." Winry smiles.
"Had to get that from you." Ed chuckles.
"You helped you know." Winry giggles as they leave Joseph's room and walk to the living room.
"Yes, I know, but I also know that I'm not perfect." Ed smiles.
"But your modesty about it all, is what in essence, makes you perfect Ed." Winry quips before walking into the kitchen, Ed following her, ready to protest.
"Don't argue with me Ed, for once, humor me." Winry smiles as she makes some tea. Ed drops it and went back into the living room, watching the snow fall gently outside through the window, the radio playing some quiet music to match the season. If there was one thing Ed likes about living in Central, it was the snow and that during this time of year, the lunatics even took a break.
1 month later
It was becoming more and more difficult for Winry to entertain her overly rambunctious son while seven months pregnant. Luckily, Ed had used alchemy to baby proof all the sharp edges of the home as the tot ran through the house like a half crazed rabbit.
"Joseph, please sit down while momma works." Winry says as she manages to scoop the crazy tot up off the floor. Joseph pouts.
"Want down. Want to play in snow." Joseph grumbles.
"I know honey, just wait a little longer and then aunt May and I can watch you and Kaio play for an hour. Ok." Winry pleads. Joseph sighs but nods before Winry set him down to go and play with his stuffed dog while Kaio rolls around on the floor, bored. Their fathers were at work and their mothers were busy, and they wanted to play. Joseph smiles and looks over at Kaio.
"Hide and seek?" He asks with a curious tone. Kaio smiled wide before he leaves the room. Joseph turns around and watches the clock until the minute hand had gone full circle and then starts to look for his cousin.
"Ok Joseph let's get you into your outside cloths so you can…" Winry says as she walks into the room, May right behind her.
"Joseph?" Winry says, her eyes scan the room over.
"Kaio, sweetie, where are you?" May says, her tone worried. The two women start to search the entire living room.
Joseph had looked under his bed, in his parents room, and in the kitchen, the only place he had not looked yet was the bathroom. Pushing the door open, he toddles into the tiled room and starts to look before he peeks over the tub rim and finds Kaio. Smiling he points to him and the small tot climbs out of the tub, just in time for their no frantic mothers to find them.
"Where have you two been?" Winry says in a slightly irritated and slightly worried tone.
"We've been looking everywhere for you." May says in the same tone.
"Playing hide and seek." Joseph says.
"Yeah." Kaio replies. May and Winry both took deep breaths before taking their sons hands and walking back to the living room.
"Stay where we can see you." Winry says calmly.
"You had us scared baby." May adds. Both boys nod and then let their mothers put them in their winter clothes.
Later that night
Ed walks through his door, the wind and snow follows him in before he closes the door, grumbling about the weather. He walks through the hall to the kitchen where Winry is sitting with their son, eating dinner, his plate already dished up.
"Anything interesting happen while I was at work?" Ed asks, taking his seat.
"Our son scared the living hell out of me." Winry says in an almost nonchalant tone.
"Oh, how so?" Ed asks before taking a bite of his food.
"He and Kaio were playing hide and seek, and they're a little too good at it." Winry says.
"Hun, they were probably bored, but I can understand that since you were working today and weren't fully watching them, yeah, that would be scary." Ed replies.
"It was absolutely terrifying." Winry says.
"But everything seemed to work out alright hun." Ed says.
"It did, I was just scared and Joseph did get to play outside." Winry says before they finish up their dinner and get Joseph into bed and then themselves to bed.
1 ½ months later
Being only a couple weeks away from her due date, naturally, Winry was a little emotional. This was only more apparent when Ed arrives to work, annoyed.
"Something wrong brother?" Al asks as Ed walks into his office where the others are and takes his seat.
"I swear I am gaining the patience of a fucking saint because of Winry's extreme mood swings. Yes, I expected them to get worse the closer she got to her due date, but starting an argument over toast is just completely uncalled for." Ed growls before they all decide to drop the subject and get to work. The sound of shuffled paper and idle chatter fills the room as Ed and his troops work through the early morning. By now, the other four members of his team have learned that when Ed and Winry got into an argument, valid or not, to just keep out of it.
The shrill cry of the telephone claims the room, makes the others jump at the loud obnoxious noise before Ed answers it.
"Colonel Elric." Ed says.
"Sir, there is a call from an outside line. I believe it is your wife." The operator says. Ed lets out a deep breath before telling her to put it through.
"Ed, I'm sorry about this morning." Winry starts off, and Ed could tell, she had been crying.
"It was uncalled for to argue over something as trivial as toast but sometimes, you know, I just can't help but…" Winry continues.
"Fly off the handle at little things because of your mood swings." Ed finishes her sentence.
"Yeah. I'm glad you at least understand that." Winry murmurs into the phone.
"Yeah, well, at this rate I'll either have a never ending patience or whiplash." Ed chuckles.
"Well, you already have more patience than me." Winry replies.
"No I don't." Ed says.
"What makes you say that?" Winry asks.
"Simple, you're eight months pregnant and watching a toddler and working with sometimes difficult customers." Ed says.
"Well, when you put it that way, then, yeah, I have loads more patience than you." Winry admits.
"Anyway, I need to get back to work. I'll swing by at lunch to get you and Joseph." Ed says.
"Ok, see you then. I love you." Winry replies.
"Love you too." Ed says before he hangs up and gets back to the papers in front of him.
"So she called just to apologize?" Makuto asks.
"Yup." Ed says.
"Well that's a relief, I was worried we would have to deal with a cranky Colonel." Marks chuckles. Ed rolls his eyes before he continues with his work.
So, I hope you all liked the chapter. Again, I will be posting next Saturday, until then, please R&R.