Disclaimer: FMA and all affiliated characters belong to Arakawa Hiromu. I do not claim ownership of them, lah dee dah. Only the original characters belong to me.

Pre-Story Notes: Well, I'm very sorry it took so long for me to update, I've been busy as hell, and I lost touch with my muse for awhile. All in all, I think this chapter was a little rushy, but let me know what you guys think, okay?

Also, this chapter is dedicated to me wonderful sisseh, Sara. That is all. :)

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Someday To You

Chapter 4:

Whatever You Are

Hot, it was hot. Something thick and black was seeping in through the half open window as he slept, something that made it hard to breath. But most of all, it was hot. It's winter, he thought, it shouldn't be so damn hot. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by a sullen, red glow that was dancing along his wall. With a start, he threw off the covers, and at that moment, Al burst through the door.

"Ed! Get dressed. There's a fire. People are trapped inside! We have to help!" The younger Elric was already dressed, overalls tied around his waist, a sleeveless shirt over those.

Almost how Winry used to dress, Ed thought as he threw on his clothes.

"What happened?" He shouted after his brother.

"No idea, it started a little while ago. People are saying there are still three families caught inside! We have to do something!"

Ed nodded grimly; Al needn't have said anything, the two of them worked together like gears in a machine, fitted perfectly. They almost knew what the other was thinking without words, it was what made them such a formidable pair.

The building was an inferno, a two story apartment building, now it was a death-trap. Beams were beginning to break, burnt through by the fierce flames. People were running frantically passing buckets of water and trying to clear a path for the helpless firemen, to them, the families inside were already dead.

Al pushed his way through the crowd, Ed hot on his heels, and together they burst through the front doors, ignoring the shouts of the crowd, and the warnings of the firemen. Smoke billowed through the rooms, falling beams slammed into the floor, far too close for comfort. Ed tried to shout out to his brother, but the acrid smoke choked him and he coughed, pointing toward a flight of stairs. They were about to collapse, but if they moved fast they could get to the top. Leaping for the stairs, they took them three at a time, reaching the top just before they fell in on themselves. They'd need another way out.

The smoke was beginning to get to them, but they pressed on, calling out for the people to answer. Ed smashed down every door in the corridors, bringing out two families. But he when he got to the last door, there was no one. Frantically he shouted for the location of the third family. Top floor, came the answer. But don't go. It's certain death.

"Al!" He shouted through the haze.

"What?"

"Get those people out of here! I'm going up."

"Don't be stupid you'll never get out alive!"

"Just shut up and move!" He gave the boy a hard shove and took off up the flight of stairs.

-----

His vision was getting blurry as he ran through the corridor, smashing in every door, and calling out. Finally, he heard a faint cry, running full tilt; he kicked the door inward before halting. The room was dim full of smoke and falling timbers. The furniture was burning, but amidst all this, he caught the sickening smell of burning flesh. In a corner, a young girl was crouched over two inert bodies, a large beam lying across them as their sightless eyes reflected the flames. Ed froze, the sight making his mind jump back to a stormy night, years ago. It was over in an eye-blink, and he was kneeling beside the girl.

"Hi. I'm Edward. You need to come with me, okay?" She looked up at him. And he froze again. The blond hair, blue eyes; that same, almost defiant, upturn of the lips everything about her was so glaringly identical to the woman he thought of constantly.

"..Winry?" His voice was choked, forced, and not due to the smoke.

"M-my name is S-Sara…h-help me please…please…"

Silently he picked her up, strong arms holding her tight as he kicked the fallen debris away from the door and moved out into the corridor. Everything was ablaze, portions of the floor fallen completely through to the first level. He took a step and the floor gave way, taking him along with it to the first floor. Sara screamed, sure she was going to die. With a sickening thud, he hit the ground, flaming timber falling around him, his numbed mind barely registering the screaming girl in his arms.

Shrugging off the barrage of debris, he painfully got to his feet, still holding the girl tightly against himself. He could feel her heart pounding, worse than his own, feel her hot breath on his shoulder. His frantic gaze darted around the destroyed lobby, sight blurry as blood flowed into his eyes from a gash in his forehead. Finally, he saw it, a single patch of pure night sky, a door! Rushing for it, he dodged more falling timbers, leaping out into the sparkling night air just as the building collapsed into a fiery, writhing mass. He tripped, but before he could fall on his face, strong arms steadied him.

Looking up he saw the worried faces of the other tenants, but his mouth was too dry for him to say anything. Al stepped out of the crowd running toward him, but he stopped short when he saw the expression on his brother's face. Worriedly, he took a step closer, something wasn't right.

"Ed?" The older Elric heard the voice as if from the bottom of a well. His reply was choked, and hoarse.

"Winry…" And then his mind went dark, the smoke in his lungs cutting off his oxygen.

-----

Cold, it was cold. Winry pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. The night was colder than any had been so far. A breeze blowing across the mountains pulled all the warmth out of the air, it seemed. She pulled her legs closer against herself, bundling lower into the blanket as she watched the sky. The stars were exceptionally bright tonight; that was the whole reason she was sitting out here. That, and she'd become addicted to fresh air these days. The stuffy shop seemed to dampen her spirits.

Next to her lay a file, a tattered and worn file, it was marked 'closed.' She picked it up for the fourth time that night. Riza had handed it to her before she left Central, Ed's old Military records. The head honchos were cleaning out the offices, she'd said, and since Ed was listed KIA, they'd figured they could get rid of his file by now.

It was full of reports on Ed's behaviour, reports on his missions and accomplishments. She'd smiled when she'd read those. The word 'insubordination' and 'reckless' came up a lot. But those weren't what had interested her. The folder also held reports in Ed's own handwriting. Reports on every single step of his journey with Al. His sarcasm and flair for the dramatic seemed to jump off the pages, forcing her to smile at least twice for every paragraph she read. Ed had always hated writing the reports, and he seemed determined to let the Colonel know that, even going so far as to totally disregard the Military protocol in the writing of them.

She was hungry, hungry for every little piece of the man she loved, any piece that she could take and hold close to her heart. She was like a drowning person desperately reaching for the lifesaver thrown their way. She never had enough, every curve of his writing, every word that stared back at her from the paper, almost proudly, defiantly, reflecting the man who'd written them.

Another blast of icy cold wind blew across her and she bundled the blanket around her, standing up. Gathering the papers, she slipped them into the folder and turned to head back inside. A whisper passed by, gently caressing her cheek, and she closed her eyes, imagining Ed was there. It was almost real, until she opened her them. Nothing but the black, starry sky met her gaze. A sad smile flickered across her face, and then she turned and shut the door behind her.

-----

Ed opened his eyes slowly, it was still dark, probably around 3am. But he couldn't see. There was something in his face. But it was yellow, and smooth, and there was a lot of it. Hair. Hmm. And something was resting against him, something warm, and soft. He pushed himself back a bit to see the girl he'd saved, curled up contentedly against his side, sleeping peacefully. The girl with Winry's face.

He gently got up, sliding off the bed. He was still soot caked, but she was clean. She'd gotten a shower then. Poor kid. Losing both parents in one night, he couldn't imagine what that would be like. Probably ten times worse than what Al and I went through. He though. She couldn't have been more than fourteen, probably younger. Her face lacked the careworn expression that Winry always had, even in sleep. Yet every other feature, every curve and nuance was the same, flawless. It was hard to imagine that they were two separate people.

Shaking it off, he broke his gaze, turning away from her and slipping out of his destroyed shirt, examining the coolly glinting Automail for any sign of damage. There was none. Satisfied, he threw the shirt into a laundry hamper and stepped outside, right into Noa. She tripped, and the Automail shot out to save her.

"Sorry, Noa." He said quickly, embarrassed.

"It's alright, Ed." Her reply came just as swiftly. "How is she?"

"She's sleeping. Did you let her in my room?"

"Yes," she replied archly. "I thought she might cheer you up. You've been so morose lately. It's unhealthy, you know?"

"Yeah, right. Thanks Noa." He shot sarcastically, walking toward the shower.

"You're welcome, Ed."

"Where's Al?"

"Sleeping, I think. Go shower, there are clean clothes in your drawers already."

"Thanks." He stepped into the bathroom, and soon, the sound of running water filled the small house.

The cold water was a welcome jolt, cleaning the sweat and ash off his aching muscles. He just stood under the shower for the longest time, letting his thoughts drift, reliving the past few hours. He could almost smell the ash, taste the blood. He reached up gingerly to trace the gash in his forehead. Not too bad. But he wouldn't be so pretty anymore. He smiled wryly at the thought. I wonder what Winry would say, if she could see me now. The thought threatened to bring on a fit of melancholy, so he squashed it. If only so that he wouldn't have to get another one of Noa's lectures.

It was more than an hour later when he stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He padded quietly back to his room, cracking the door open just enough to look inside. Sara slept on, oblivious to the outside world. With a sigh of relief he stepped in and changed quickly, jumping into his boxers and an over-sized shirt. He hated the stupid long sleeves. But it was necessary to hide his arm. Gathering a blanket and a spare pillow, he pulled the door open again, fully intending to spend the night in his chair. But the, a quiet voice sounded behind him.

"Mister Edward?" That voice, so much like hers.

"Just Ed. Is everything alright, Sara?"

"I just...I'm cold…" He frowned.

"Here, you can have this blanket." He held out the blanket to her, and she took it.

"Ed…?"

"Yes, Sara?"

"Will you stay here…please? Stay with me tonight..?"

"You barely know me, Sara. I could be a psycho, or a murderer, or a rapist."

"You saved my life, you brought me here, those kinds of people wouldn't do that…and my parents are gone…You rescued me, Ed, that's the only bond I have left." She lowered her eyes "But…I understand if you're not comfortable.."

"I'll stay." He almost sighed, climbing back onto the bed behind her.

She took his arm and wrapped it around herself, curling up against him again and closing her eyes.

"Ed?"

"What is it?"

"Thank you…for saving my life…you're all the family I have now…"

He paused, unable to find any words. Slowly, she fell asleep, breathing gently. He couldn't sleep, though. He just lay there, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair, and feeling the homesickness well up in his heart. This girl, out of millions, he had to meet this girl tonight. Providence, it seemed, had a twisted sense of humour. He reached under his pillow and pulled out the gun, a simple, five shot revolver, only one bullet. Just the one. He could still remember the feeling of the cool metal against his temple, hear the cocking of the hammer. But he hadn't had the courage to pull the trigger.

Why? He wondered. He'd faced horrors most people would never meet even in their worst nightmares. He'd fought and he'd even died, twice. He'd killed, and destroyed, faced innumerable odds. Why couldn't he pull the trigger? Was it so hard to let go of it all? The monotony that had become his life? The utter hopelessness of every day? He thought for what seemed hours. Until finally, a single answer formed out of the darkness. Hope. In some part of himself, there was hope, hope that he would one day get back.

He shut his eyes against the unwelcome tears, and Sara turned in his arms, her small fingers wiping them away.

"Ed…you're crying."

"Sorry…go back to sleep. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, Sara. Go back to sleep, I'm okay." She leaned her forehead against his. He winced, the cut.

"Goodnight…" A yawn made it's way through.

"Goodnight, Sara."

"Goodnight…" He voice was drowsy, already half asleep. "…dad."

He gritted his teeth. Not a sound, he promised himself. He wouldn't make a sound. He needed to be strong, for Winry, for Al and Noa, and now, for this girl. This stray waif who had dropped into his life, seemingly out of nowhere. He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. Be strong…The words echoed in his mind as he fell into a fitful sleep.

-----

Al paced agitatedly around the room. Something was very wrong with Ed, he could feel it. And while Noa's efforts to cheer him up with the Winry look-a-like were admirable, Al couldn't shake the feeling that things would only get worse. He paced and paced, arranging and re-arranging the papers on his desk as Noa sewed one of his shirts quietly in the background. He'd wanted to tell Ed about the lead he'd found, their best chance yet, but the fire had taken up all their interest and he hadn't had the chance.

And the Winry doppelganger, she was the wild card in the equation. He involvement could make everything better, or everything worse. He shook his head. Ed had insisted on bringing her back after the fire, and he didn't like to argue. But this was one decision he didn't totally agree with.

"Al, come to bed, please. It's four in the morning for goodness' sake."

"You're sewing." He almost accused.

"Well, I need to do something other than sit here like a dumb cluck while you pace."

"I'm sorry, darling." He sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'm just worried about Ed."

"We both are, but you have other things to worry about right now. Like our wedding? Two days from now? Ring any bells?"

He chuckled, gently taking her sewing and setting it on the bedside table, before snuffing out the lamp. Then, and only then did he take her gently by the shoulders, pushing her down into the bed and kissing her gently. She returned the kiss, loving, tender. Before breaking away with an impish tone in her voice.

"You wouldn't be getting carnal passions, now would you, Mister Elric?" She teased.

"It's been three nights." Came his immediate excuse.

"Say it first."

"Say what?"

"You know what I like to hear."

He grinned widely, his second kiss much more serious than the first.

"I love you, Noa."

"I love you too, Alphonse Elric, you dork. Now, help me out of this dress…"

To be continued…

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I will continue, I promise. I will not leave it half done like my LOD fic. I will finish this. I promise you all! In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please do R&R. All CC is appreciated. I proof-read it three times. See how much I love ya'll:D Review, ya? Bye now.