I really am grateful for all the reviews! Thank you Drum. I hope you are continuing to enjoy the story so far. Golden Flame, I always love your reviews and I always enjoy reading your stories too. I got really excited when I saw that you had reviewed it. And a guest left a wonderful comment as well. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Now on to the story. Finally we made it to Amestris!

The train pulled into West City at 1 pm. Borys and Olena got into their respective trunks and were unloaded as luggage. Mila and Edward got a cart to take their 'luggage' to a cab. Edward hailed one rather quickly. The cabs were waiting at the train station knowing that the passengers would be unloading. They gently loaded the trunks into the cab and made their way to Mila's parent's home.

The cab pulled up to a nice 2 story house with a fenced in yard. Edward saw the house and was nervous. Mila's parents knew there would be guests but not quite the guests they were expecting. Mila and Edward exited the car and took the trunks up to the front door. Mila knocked and then entered the house.

"Mom, I'm home," Mila called out.

Mila's mother and father came into the foyer to welcome her. Her mother hugged "Welcome home. So are these our guests?" Her mother motioned toward Edward and Nikolai.

"Yeah, sort of. Let's get inside," Mila said as she and Edward brought in one trunk and set them gently in the living room.

Mila introduced Edward "This is my commanding officer, Colonel Elric and his new son Nikolai that he adopted while over in Kiva. The Colonel hurt his leg and I've escorted him back to Amestris."

Mila's father inquired "So you adopted a child while on a mission?"

Edward put his hand to the back of his head "Yeah, it wasn't an easy decision, but the situation is dire over there."

Mila's mother was from Kiva and had a slight accent "How dire? Is this why no one has heard any word from their relatives over there?"

Mila nodded "Yes, they've cut off all communication from other countries. Even from other villages."

Edward interrupted "We can't tell you everything, but the famine is bad. It's been going on longer than they told us. People are starving. A lot of people have died."

Mila's parents were shocked to hear that. Edward reminded them "You can't tell anyone how bad it is. We are still helping and providing food. And we don't want to start a war with Drachma. We are in the process of gathering information. But we really need your help with something. If you don't agree to it, then we can go with a different plan. Please hear us out."

Mila opened one trunk and summoned Olena out of it. Edward kneeled down and opened his trunk with Borys in it. Mila explained "These are two orphans from Kiva. Can they stay with you until we find a permanent solution?" Her parents were without words.

Edward could see the wheels start turning in their minds. He explained further "We tried an orphanage over there but it was awful. It didn't feel right to take them from one bad place to another. And Drachma doesn't want them. I figured they would do better in Amestris. I'm sorry to put this on you."

Borys and Olean held Mila's hands as her parents were contemplating. Mila's mother leaned towards them and spoke to them in Kivian "You poor children. You've had a rough beginning but there can be a better middle. Come with me to the kitchen. Let's get you something to eat."

The children smiled and followed her into the kitchen. Mila's mother made them sandwiches with bread and cheese and ham. The children were in awe. There was food in the fridge and in the cabinets.

The father told Edward "Let my wife and I discuss it first." Mila's mother also made them sandwiches and gave Edward yogurt to feed Nikolai, who seemed to really enjoy it.

Mila's father spoke "So Colonel, do you have children at home?"

"Yes. My wife and I have 2 children. Thomas and Lucy. Here, I have some photos here." Edward of course had to show off his two spawn along with his gorgeous wife.

Mila's father smiled at the photos. "I could tell you were a father. You're very at ease with the baby."

Edward smirked "Yeah. I remember holding my son the first time. I felt like he was so fragile but now I know the right ways to hold them and how to take care of them. It comes pretty natural after a while."

Mila's father nodded in agreement. Him and his wife excused themselves to discuss the matter of the orphans at hand. After they finished lunch, Mila showed the children around the bottom half of the house, which included some photos of her and her parents.

Mila's parents came downstairs. Her father told them "We've decided to keep the orphans until a more permanent solution is available on one condition."

"What is it?" Edward asked.

"Papers. We don't want to be seen as criminals by hiding two children here. We need a good cover story to go with it." Mila's father said.

Edward nodded. "We can get some papers drawn up. I'll take care of it when I get back to my office in East City."

Mila's mother had an idea. "As for a cover story, maybe we can say they are distant relatives of mine. It would explain the Kivian language."

Mila exclaimed "That's a wonderful idea."

"Thank you so much," Edward shook the father's hand.

The children were told in Kivian that they were staying there and they shouted for joy.

Mila's mother then told them her plan. "You must stay inside for now until I can go out and buy you clothes. We can't have you going out like this." The children looked down at their clothes which were worn and stained with dirt and mud. This was normal wear for them and they didn't realize there was anything wrong with it.

Mila also said "You two also need a bath before you put on new clothes." The children groaned. Bath time wasn't usually something to look forward to.

Mila's mother was about to go and she turned to Edward "Are you two staying as well?"

"No, we are going to go get a hotel. I also need to get some shopping done for him as well." Edward looked at Nikolai who was happily playing on the ground. "And I need to call my wife." Edward groaned in anticipation. A dark cloud settle above him.

Mila's mother asked "Does your wife know about him?"

"Not yet. All communication was cut off. And I wanted to make sure the phone line was safe before calling her."

Mila's mother frowned. "Well, good luck to you. I'm sure she'll understand."

"Thanks."

Mila's mother left and Edward was packing up and getting ready to go with just his suitcase. He would have Mila take the trunk with her to Kiva in 2 weeks when she was due back. She was the translator and needed to be there after she got Borys and Olena settled.

Mila's father talked to him at the door. "I'm glad you trust us with them. My wife wasn't able to bear more children after a hard delivery with Mila. This might be our second chance at having more children."

"Oh, I'm glad you think of it that way."

"Well, let's say we can call this a trial to see if we are up to raising two more children. If it works out, we may be their permanent home. But we'll see. No promises yet."

Edward nodded enthusiastically. "That would be great. I'd be happy to have papers drawn up for you. Just let me know." They shook hands and Edward left the happy home to get a hotel room with Nikolai. Now to inform Winry of their new addition.

Edward went with Nikolai to find a hotel for the night. The next train would be tomorrow that would be an express to Central and then transfer to East City, where he called home now. It was kind of Mila's family to offer him a place to stay for the night but he really wanted to be alone for when he has to call Winry.

On the way to a hotel, he found a baby boutique and figured he needed a few more supplies for the trip to East City. Plus, the ones he had were in rough shape. The clothes were stained and ragged. Made from sackcloth. Ed walked in with the infant asleep in the makeshift carrier. He grabbed a few outfits, which included a red and white striped sleeper, a light blue one sleeper, and a grey one with a fox on it. He also got some new diapers and more formula and some wipes. He went to desk and the woman started ringing his purchase up. Edward noticed there were rubber duckies next to the register and he added one to his purchase. The baby had no toys. Edward figured this would be a good first toy. His kids still played with theirs and they were older.

Edward went from the boutique with shopping bag and suitcase in hand. He checked into a hotel and set his bags down. He sat on the bed and slumped over. He didn't realize how exhausted he was. The stress of caring for an infant while traveling and smuggling two kids across international borders had caught up with him. Of course, Nikolai woke up then so Edward figured there wouldn't be much rest. Nikolai looked around noticing the scenery had changed.

"See? We're in a hotel. And we have a nice cozy bed to sleep in tonight," Edward took off the carrier and set Nikolai on the floor. Nikolai didn't like being on the floor and started to cry. Edward shook his head and picked him up.

"You've gotten used to being carried all the time. Well, we need to change that. But I don't want to draw any attention and disturb our neighbors. Well how about this. Let's call room service and get some dinner. It's about time to eat anyways." Edward had Nikolai sit in his lap while he called room service and ordered mashed potatoes for Nikolai and a steak dinner for himself. Ed had to feed Nikolai while they both sat on the floor. That way Nikolai would get used to sitting on the floor.

After dinner, Edward started a bath because he realized that they could both use one. Even though he took a few showers in Kiva, it had been so cold, it was hard to enjoy them. He put Nikolai on the bed and undressed him and they went into the bathroom. Edward set him on a rug on the floor while Edward undressed. He was relieved to be out of the uniform. This one needed to be cleaned along with the others in his suitcase. He turned off the water so that it wasn't deep and tested the water to see if it was too hot. It seemed okay. Edward grabbed the rubber duck from the boutique bag and threw it in the tub. He also opened the hotel soap and set it on the side of the tub.

Edward picked up Nikolai and stepped in the tub. He eased into the water and set Nikolai in front of him. Nikolai's gaze was drawn to Edward's metal leg. He reached out and touched it. "Yep, that's my leg. It's cooler than skin, huh?" Edward asked.

Edward then found the rubber duck and set it in front of the infant. "Look! This is more awesome than my leg." Edward squeezed it and the toy squeaked. Nikolai's eyes widened and he laughed loudly.

Edward was taken aback. He wasn't sure if he had heard Nikolai laugh before. Then he smiled softly and made the toy squeak again. The baby laughed again and reached out for the duck, which Edward pushed toward him gently. Nikolai grabbed it and studied the duck. He then put it in his mouth.

Edward sighed. "I remember this stage. Little ones always put objects into their mouth to feel them. I gotta be careful about that."

Edward washed himself and Nikolai, and washed their hair. They were both clean, and Edward set him on the floor with the rubber duck since it occupied the baby's attention. Nikolai was happy sitting on the floor. Edward then sat with him and watched him play while he thought of how he was going to explain this to Winry.

Bedtime came and Edward asked room service for a warm cup of milk, which he never thought he would have to order from room service. Milk was gross but after having two kids, he knew that it helped provide nutrition for them. He made a bottle and sat on the bed with his back against the headboard. He moved some pillows to support his back. He gave the bottle to an eager Nikolai and talked softly to him.

"Soon you get to meet my two kids. Thomas is my eldest. He likes getting into things he shouldn't. Wonder where he got that from? He'll look after you though just like he looks after Lucy. She loves babies so she's going to adore you. Hopefully she won't try to dress you up in all those pink dresses. Now the person you're going to need to impress is Winry. She's a good woman. A great mother. Hopefully she'll agree to keep you around and raise you as one of her own. So just be cute when you meet her." Edward looked down and the baby kept suckling on the bottle though his eyes were half closed. Edward adjusted his arms and watched until Nikolai finished the bottle and was asleep. He laid him on the bed near the wall. He would take the other side so Nikolai wouldn't fall off the bed.

Now for the hardest part of this trip. The phone call to Winry. Edward gulped as he picked up the receiver. He started dialing the number and rehearsed in his head what he was going to say.

It was 9:30 at night. The kids should be in bed so it would just be her. No distractions. He heard her sweet voice answer the phone.

"Hello?" Winry answered.

"Hey sweetheart. How's it going?" Edward replied, hoping the 'sweetheart' would butter her up some.

"Ed? Is that you?! What a sweet surprise. I didn't expect to hear from you for a while, especially a phone call," Winry cheered.

"Well I miss you. And I'm in Amestris." Edward trailed off.

"Amestris? Oh Ed, did you break your leg already? You haven't even been gone for two weeks," Winry groaned.

"NO! I MEAN, YES! Sort of.,"

"Well, which is it?" Winry questioned.

"Winry, I have someone with me that needs help. A place to stay for a while. He's from Kiva."

Winry wasn't going to forget the leg but was intrigued by this stranger. "Oh, ummm.. okay. Do I need to set up the spare room?"

"Not quite. You see, he's around 7 months old. So he'll need to sleep in a crib," Edward informed her.

There was silence. "Umm, Win, you there?"

"Yes, you said 7 months old? An infant? What about his parents?" Winry asked.

"They both passed away. I'm bringing him home because I adopted him from Kiva, and it's-"

"YOU WHAT?! YOU ADOPTED A BABY?! I can't believe this! Ed, this is not a puppy or a kitten! This is a human life. What were you thinking? And you didn't even consult-"

"WINRY PLEASE!" Edward interrupted her as she had done to him. Winry became silent. Their arguing had gotten better over the years. When Edward had yelled 'please' to her, she knew that this was important. He wasn't trying to make her angry but had a valid point somewhere.

Winry took a deep breath that Ed could hear over the phone. She was listening.

"Winry, it's way worse that what we expected. It's been going on much longer than we were told. There was nowhere good to take him. We tried finding someone to take him in but no one was up for taking care of an infant. The orphanage was awful. I couldn't do that to him. I can't tell you everything over the phone but when I get home, I'll explain more." Ed was worried about the phone being tapped though he doubted it.

Edward waited for a response and got slience. So he continued "After Mom died, your grandmother took us in, no questions. And then my teacher took me and Al in to train us. But they also fed us and clothed us. And they helped us grow into better people. They did so much for me and Al, and now it's my turn to pay it forward. You remember our theory, right? Receive ten but give back 11. That's what I want to do."

He heard Winry sigh on the other end. He figured he should finish his speech. "But I want you to understand that this is mutual decision. If you don't want to do this, then we can find somewhere in Amestris to take him in. Just please give him a chance."

Winry pondered and told her kindhearted husband "So what's his name?"

"Nikolai. I call him Nik for short."

"Ok Ed. I'll see you two when you get home. I'm going to give it a chance but you can't be mad if it doesn't work out. This isn't going to be easy."

"I know. I'm sorry to put this on you."

"Just remember you owe me big time for this."

"Okay, free back massages and foot rubs," Edward offered.

"Maybe more than that," Winry suggested with a smile that Edward could hear on the other line.

Edward and Winry chuckled at each other. Edward gave Winry the train information on when they would arrive, and they agreed to meet at the station.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There is more fluffy family time coming up. But we'll get back to the grit soon. After all, there's so much to repairs to do.