Winry had to build a new leg from scratch. So she told us it would take several days. As much as I didn't want to go to Resembool, I wanted even more not to stick around. But I didn't have any choice. I needed automail and Winry said it would take time. She was doing it for free so it's not like I could make her rush it. Winry's Granny let Sister and me stay at her house. Actually she made us stay there. I would have been more comfortable staying outside like we usually did. I couldn't fool them though. They knew we didn't have anywhere to stay. They knew who I really was so they knew that I didn't know anyone else in Resembool. And Resembool was such a small town that we couldn't fool them into thinking Sister knew someone either.

It was weird at first. The Rockbelle's knew I was homunculus but they didn't know if Sister knew so they were real careful about what they said. Sister wasn't sure about how I knew the Rockbelle's and I think that made her nervous. So it was really odd to have both Winry and Sister in the same room. At least Alphonse wasn't there. He would have made things even harder. Granny Pinako (she told me to call her that but it felt wrong because she wasn't my Granny) helped some. She treated me the same way she treated me last time after Rose had rescued me. She gave me my space, letting me keep to myself while at the same time making sure I took care of myself.

One day, I don't know where Sister was but I was poking around the Rockbelle's living room. They had a bunch of albums and pictures. I was bored so I started poking through them. I don't know why. There were whole bunches of pictures of people I didn't know. I liked looking at those. People watching had become a hobby of Sister's and mine and looking at photos was kind of similar. I also found pictures of Granny Pinako when she was younger and pictures of her sons.

There were pictures of that man, Hohenmiem of Light, the one Master was so obsessed with. I tried to flip quickly past those but now I was in the part of the book that was getting me in trouble. I found pictures of Winry's parents. Next to them there was a picture with Hohenmeim and his wife, the Elric brothers' mother: her. I was going to flip by her quickly but then I studied her picture for a while. She looked just like Sloth mommy, but at the same time not- there was something in her expression that Sloth mommy never had. She was a real mommy something Sloth mommy wasn't and could never be. I had clung to Sloth mommy and she had let me, even cared for me a little but now I was able to recognize she hadn't cared enough. I wondered how things would have been different if Trisha Elric had been my mommy. They would have been better but I suppose I have to learn I can't change how things are. At least I had sister, she cared for me in ways Sloth mommy never had.

I was looking at the next picture, one of two proud little boys I recognized grinning at the camera without a care in the world, when Winry came in the room. "Your automail is going to take a little longer, I need to wait for a part to come," she told me tiredly. She flopped down next to me on the sofa. "What are you looking at? Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw the picture. I didn't say anything. I didn't try to hide the book from her, she'd already seen so what would be the point? Gently she took the photo album off my lap. Winry stared at the picture for a while. I sort of wanted to get up and leave, but it would have been wrong to just leave her so upset. I had made the mess by snooping so I guess I had to deal with the consequences, equivalent exchange again.

After a lot of silence Winry sighed and said, "That stupid boy, I miss him so much. I was always chewing him out for being too reckless. I keep wishing he'd listened to us back then, but I guess he just wouldn't be Ed if he had."

We sat in more silence. I didn't know what to say but I don't think Winry needed me to say anything. "Do you have any idea what happened to him?" she asked me suddenly.

"I don't know." I thought about it. "He must have opened the gate to get his brother back. He may be at the gate or maybe he went through it again." I shivered. I didn't like thinking about the gate. It made me think of being stuck inside. If that was what happened to Ed, no I can't think about that.

"On the other side?" Winry sounded thoughtful. "What's on the other side."

"I don't know. Another world I guess."

"So he's another world's problem now." Winry smiled thinking about something. Suddenly she slammed the album shut. "Enough thinking about the past. What was Ed's motto: move forward?" She stood up and stretched. She glanced back at me and said, "Al's writes to me. He's off training with his teacher. He's asked about you. He wants to know how your doing."

I played with my hands. "Tell him I'm doing fine."

Winry put the album away. "Are you?" She gave me a hard look. "You look like you've had some pretty rough times."

I shrugged. "We get by." I thought about it for a moment. "I'm doing okay." I told her with more confidence that I was right.

"Wrath," Winry said softly. "When he asks how you're doing, he wants to know for himself but also he's asking because she wants to know." I didn't ask who 'she' was I knew whom Winry was talking about. "She worries about you." Winry continued. There was a time when just thinking about her was enough to make me run away. But I've learned that even when I run I can't escape thinking about her. So I made myself stay. I think Winry took that I wasn't running away as a good sign cause she slowly continued, "She wants to see you."

"NO!" I yelled. I calmed myself down and said, "I can't see her. I don't want to."

Winry sighed. "Think about it, Wrath. Give it some time. Promise me someday you'll at least try to reconcile with her."

I didn't want to. I still don't want to face her and I didn't need her. I had sister. I had someone who cared for me. Who never abandoned me at the gate. I squeezed my eyes closed to try and force the images from my mind. I looked down at my toes. "I'll try." I finally mumbled. I guess I owed Winry that much for all she's done for me.

"Just try," Winry repeated gently. She got up and left the room. Staying inside was too much. I had to get away. I couldn't run very well with the spare but I made my way outside as fast as I could.

Once I made it outside I wandered around for a while just walking around. Between the various fields ran small footpaths. I took these not caring or knowing where they went. I found sister standing by a burned out wreck of house.

"Oh, hey," she called when she saw me. I made my way over to her. "This house burned down didn't it." she asked me quietly.

"Yeah."

"I hope everyone made it out okay." Her voice shook a little.

I recognized the house and although I knew no one lived there when it was burned down. I didn't want to explain the story to Sister so I just said, "They did."

"That's good. Not everyone is so lucky you know." We stood there quite for a moment. I don't know what she was thinking of but I was still trying not to think of my other mother. When sister spoke again her voice was different- cheery. "See Resembool's not so bad, want to stay here awhile?"

I thought about it seriously for a minute. "Resembool is okay but it's not my home. I don't know where my home is. I'm guess I'm still looking for it." Sister watched me and nodded. I suddenly thought of something to add, "The Rockbelle's are nice too but they're not my family. I don't belong with them."

"Am I your family?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't you be?" I quickly told her. Sister was my family more so than anyone else in the world.

Sister gave me a wide smile. "Come on little brother, let's go back. I think it's almost dinnertime."

As we walked back she asked me, "So where to next?"

"I don't know. It's getting to be summer now, feel like seeing what the north is like?"