A/N: First off, a mahoosive thank you to all those that reviewed! It was an awesome thing to wake up to this morning, they were all so nice and BIG. You are all lovely people and you make me smile. :D

I don't like this little chapter as much, but I did try!

Part II

Pinako told him to sit down while she went to make a pot of tea, muttering and murmuring under her breath. He followed her into the kitchen, hovering over her and asking the same question over and over again.

"Where are my family? Where are my family?"

"It's a shame you didn't call ahead of you, I could have made lunch-"

"My family, Pinako..."

"I'm afraid you've caught me short. Will you take it black?"

"Pinako-"

"No sugar, still?"

For years, Hohenheim had kept his temper under lock and key, well aware of the danger he could do if he lost it, but nothing could stop him now. Pinako was dodging his questions, avoiding his eyes, refusing to look him in the face.

"Pinako! Just tell me- WHERE THE HELL IS MY FAMILY?"

The old woman sighed, and came to sit down. She looked like she no longer had the strength to stand.

"There was no way we could contact you-"

"Pinako-"

"She's gone, Hohenheim. Not long after you left."

Pinako was used to pain and anguish, physical and mental. She'd given bad news, received plenty of it too. Yet that look in Hohenheim's eyes, the pain in his face as it crumpled, was enough to bring even her hardened heart to tears. She'd never seen anyone look so broken in so short amount of time. He didn't even try to contradict her, didn't even try to deny it was true. He just sat down, face in his face, eyes far, far away.

"The... the fire?" he said eventually, "The boys-"

"They're alive, more or less."

"More or...? Tell me."

"It won't be easy-"

"Tell me."

"The fire didn't kill her... illness did." Pinako began difficultly. "We tried... and she tried... but it wasn't enough. I looked after Edward and Alphonse afterwards, best I could... me and Winry. Then they... they went away for a while. To study Alchemy."

"Alchemy? They're Alchemists?"

Pinako nodded slowly. "Damned good 'uns too, or so I hear. Ed's the youngest state alchemist in history."

"What... what happened to them? Where are they now?"

"There's no easy way to say this, Hohenheim... They tried to bring her back."

Any colour left in Hohenheim's face immediately vanished. He remained as still as ever, face clenched in his hands. Pinako was forced to continue.

"They failed, of course. Badly. Alphonse lost his entire body, Ed saved him, binding his soul to a suit of armour. He lost his arm and his leg."

She walked across to the noticeboard and pulled off a photograph, sliding it across the table. "Here, take a look at your sons... what's left of them."

"I can't."

"Take a look at them!"

"I CAN'T!"

Suddenly, Hohenheim was on his feet, bringing his fist crashing down on the table and banging it repeatedly until it smashed into pieces and he fell to the ground. He was screaming now, howling like a dog in pain. Pinako had never, ever seen him like this, and she'd known him some fifty years. He carried on screaming until his voice was horse and the table was nothing but splinters.

"What have I done?" he wept, curling up in the rubble. "What have I done? Trisha... Edward... Alphonse... my boys..." the photo fell across his gaze, and he picked it up, running his fingers over the faces. Alphonse, not the small, sweet boy he'd left behind, but a cold suit of armour, and Edward, with a face so like his own, hampered by mechanical limbs. The pain he must have gone through, the pain they both must have felt...

"My boys... my precious sons..."

Pinako let him carry on for a while longer before she felt her own temper snapping. "All right, there's enough of that! You're not the only one to have lost people, you know! Winry lost both her parents in that terrible war... my only son... I had to raise her by myself, and your boys too. Straighten up and be man! Your boys are trying to fix the mistakes they made, you can try and do the same."

Hohenheim stood up and shook the debris of his suit, seemingly regaining his composure as quickly as he'd lost it.

"I... I am sorry... I'll fix the table for you now..."

Hohenheim didn't ask any more questions about his family after that, and didn't make any effort to explain himself. He just sat down, sipped his tea, and asked after Winry. When Pinako said that she was in Central with the brothers, he steered the conversation away. He didn't seem to want to hear about them any more. He asked if it would be all right to stay a night, before moving on again.

"You don't want to go and see your boys?"

"I don't think it would be wise. They won't want to see me."

"Hmm. You're probably right about that. Doesn't mean you shouldn't. You owe them an explanation."

"Do you honestly think anything I said would be good enough?"

Pinako smiled wryly. "True." Hohenheim headed for the door, and she didn't need to ask him where he was going. "Why... why did you leave, Hohenheim?"

He half-turned towards her, looking back over his shoulder with most of his face shrouded in shadow. "It doesn't matter now." I should never, ever have left...

"Well, why did you come back?"

Hohenheim didn't answer. He was already halfway out the door.

A/N: There we go. I have more if people want it... the meeting between Edward and Hohenheim over Trisha's grave. Poor Hohenheim... I feel really sorry for him, but this is "fun" to write, flesh out his character a bit, since he always confused me a little bit, he didn't seem to quite understand WHY Edward was so mad at him (eg. "What are you calling your parent a bastard for?") and even went as far as to suggest somebody should have scolded them for their attempt at transmutating Trisha. Well, in my opinion, he actually cares a great deal but can't express it, and only talked of scolding them because he knows he should have... he should have been there and doesn't blame anyone but himself.

Review, wonderful reviewers!