A/N: It was really quite hard to write this chapter (luckily I found some free weekend time to write today tho, work is just plain hell the past few days and I'm so stressed out I nearly had a breakdown and there's just soo much drama and crap going on there I just dunno anymore), but this was probably the hardest out of them all, especially because of how serious and intellectually factual FMA can tend to be, and it's hard to sometimes go off of the series since to begin with it is SUCH an amazing show and it's hard to top the dialogue and underlying themes within it that they have in the show, but I do my best I think especially since I'm used to writing comedies a lot, so don't judge me too hard on this one, what with the drama going on at work and all. It's just been kinda hard to write like how I used to in the earlier chapters everyone liked, what with all the stress at work and all. But I really want to try and end it nicely and kinda to the FMA style. Oh no, there is one more chapter, don't worry and get scared now, haha.

Ed was sitting on his bed, he didn't know the area of the town so he didn't want to venture around and get lost. Not that it wasn't in his personality, he just didn't have the strength of will, not after hearing the news he'd just got. It was dark in his room, the window was drawn shut so little light cracked in. His face wore a look that of decimation as he recalled Alphonse in his memory. Finally he rubbed his hand over his face and sighed, closing his eyes. He opened them and they landed upon the remaining pain pills left in the numerously refilled bottle on the small nightstand. He stood up and slowly walked over to them, picking them up and holding them in his hand. He stared down at them for a few moments, then growled as he clenched it tightly in his fist and hurled it against the wall, his voice exploding into a roar of rage. This happened just as Al opened the door to the room, seeing his brother standing panting and lost in the darkness, afraid and unsure what to do next now.

"Please, brother..." Al started to approach him, his hands stretched out slightly to express calming restraint.

"Get away from me Al!" Ed turned sharply, barking at his younger brother.

Al froze immediately upon seeing the unfamiliar anger surging across his brothers face, "Brother, please..."

"It's over Al... IT'S OVER!" Ed yelled, causing him to clear his throat to his dismay, angering him more. "Look what's become of me, this world, this world has changed me into something I'm not... Even back home Al! Even back home, when I was half auto mail... I WAS MORE MYSELF THEN THAN I AM MYSELF NOW!" He grabbed his jacket on the bed and threw it onto the floor, thinking of his auto mail reminded him of Winery and how much he missed her. "I'm screwed Al, I'm screwed no matter what I do... no matter how hard I try..." He sat on the bed, his voice quiet again, cracking trying to hide the tears.

"No Ed you're not." Al started to slowly make his way back over to him once again, this time reaching him and sitting next to him on the bed.

"But there's no cure... so there's no hope..."

Al's eyes became soft, "Brother..."

There was a soft knock at the door and Nurse Rosemary entered, "Are you boys aright in here...?"

Ed growled slightly, speaking up, "Leave me alone, Shelly."

She didn't listen and walked in, sitting on the adjacent bed Al slept on and faced the two brothers, "Listen to me Ed, we need to talk."

"It takes two for a conversation, lady..."

"Please, brother just hear her out. She knows more than we do."

"Maybe in this world, on this subject. In this world there is no alchemy, technology has progressed differently in this time, what with using science like chemistry and physics, and things like machinery and the laws of aviation for things like rockets and zeppelins. Even religion and sources of energy are different." Ed was recalling the conversation he'd had with his father when they'd been sent to the other side of the gate in London during the great war. "Medicine is different here too, it's more evolved. A disease like this wouldn't exist in our hometown Al, because it wouldn't have evolved from it's earlier stages. Do you know what I mean? Our medicine may have not been able to put up a fight enough to defeat it to make it grow stronger and even harder to expel from your body. We were simpler."

"I know brother, but that's irrelevant now, now that..."

"Let me finish Al." Ed was speaking quietly in his speech. "Things are however the same though. Take for example the military and peoples desires. Why did people search for the stone Al?"

Al blinked solemnly, "For power... for wealth... for eternal life... you know this brother, why..."

"I'm getting to my point. King Bradley may have been a homunculus but his motives were driven by a human being, Dante, and they both shared similar wants and needs and the same goal. In this world the stone may not exist, but look at the uprising going on now which people say and believe may cause a second world war, what is it for...?"

"Power, wealth, territory, pride..."

"Not so different, is it? Some things may be, but...I tried to learn more as I followed dad as he worked for Winston Churchill, but even the government here is different. I didn't understand the world when I arrived in London with dad, this world may be more violent, but that may be because there is no stone in this world, alchemy does not exist."

"But their better medicine and technology does brother. Brother... when Envy stabbed you in that fight, and I thought you were dead, I felt like I had no reason to go on or even put up a fight anymore, I could've given up and let them use my body as the stone to achieve their goals..."

"But you didn't have to Al..."

"We can talk more knowingly about it now because it happened in the past and we understand it all now. But back then, is like right here and now. We don't know."

"So then Al, what are YOU trying to say...?"

"I'm saying that we shouldn't jump to conclusions and give up. If I had then, would we be alive here today?"

"Maybe not, but..."

"But we still can't give up brother!" Al stared at Ed who was silent for a moment, and that gave Al a chance to rant a speech of his own. "Brother, do you know why we both exist together as brothers?"

"What? Now that's an obscure question... what exactly are you getting at with this one?"

"Brothers are different when they are separated, in another life, you and I could be an only child, we would be the same person and yet we would also be different. But do you know why we are so good at being brothers? Because we make up for one another, we're always there for each other, when one of us is in trouble the other comes to help, when the other one is weak, the other stays strong to help him carry on. Without one there would be no us, no brother, without you there would be no me, and without me there would be no you. It's almost a little selfish of me, for saying that, but... it's how I feel, and it may not be how the world works, but all is one and one is all, we are one, and in turn as a whole we are two."

Ed smirked, "You're not as experienced with venting as I am Al, granted you're smarter than hell, but you always were the quiet one."

"And you were the loud. See how such a good team we are?" Al laughed.

"I may not understand you two and your pasts..." Nurse Rosemary spoke up finally and they turned to her. "But some things are the same, like our bodies, and war for example. Ed, no matter what country a person's origin is from, if somebody gets hurt in battle, if a limb is blown off and they're given the chance to survive, they keep going with an artificial one. People don't leave their comrades to die, they help them carry on in the only way they can. They could give up, but it's not in the human spirit to let the fire die out like that. Maybe like Al said, it's because humanity is selfish. Or take your brother for example, when he had appendicitis as a child, he and your mother had two choices, go to the hospital for the operation to get it removed, or keep it and stay headstrong and die eventually a slow painful death of blood poisoning."

"They're different situations, they aren't the same. Al was a child, a military fighter chose the chance of death when they signed up."

"But they both had a chance at life, and they both took it. I've seen a lot of patients and lab rats in my day, and so far the result is the same. Whether it's a limb, an appendix, a cancerous organ, or even your tonsils, you can remove something from your body and it will still be a body. It's not the flesh that makes you a human, it's your heart, your soul. And it's that spirit within you that keeps fighting. Nobody wants to quit Ed, and deep down inside, I know you don't either. You're just afraid, because this is foreign to you, and you don't understand it like you might something else..."

"Like alchemy back home Ed. There were people who didn't understand alchemy too brother, and they were afraid of it. This world may be different but all in all it's really very much the same. Really the other side of the gate is just a parallel universe."

"We may not have a cure for what you and Alphonse have, but we do have medicines to prolong your life. It's similar to what people with asthma use, only your case is much far worse, but I'll still use it as an example. Inhalers for asthmatics don't cure them, but they give them the key to surviving. The choice is up to you Ed, you know that."

Ed sighed, "I get so emotional sometimes... Al you know me, you know I'd never quit, especially not for you. We live for each other, and since my life belongs to you, I want to keep living, to keep giving it to you. Because we'd be lost if not for each other, without the other, there would be no us, no brothers."

Al smiled, "Yeah. I knew you would. We are brothers, we may live according to equivalent exchange as alchemists, but even in this world where we are both just simple average teenagers, we still live a life for a life. And that's a universal law of compassion."

"There are people who might not understand what we say, but as long as we do, with each other, isn't that really all that matters?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right brother."

Ed grinned, "Well sure I am."

"We've been through so much in our young lives, but our bond as brothers is so strong, I can't think of anything else that's stronger."

"And if anybody questions it, POW!" Ed punched a fist into his hand.

"I may not understand your words, Ed." Nurse Rosemary stood up. "But I understand one thing." She touched his chest right over his heart. "It's what's in here. And sometimes, that's really all that matters, it's your heart that's what counts, in any language."

"Thank you Shelly." Ed smiled at her. "I guess I can be an idiot sometimes, huh?"

"Sometimes...?" Nurse Rosemary grinned slyly at Al, who laughed.

"Hey come on cut that out!" Ed roared like his usual self but it caused him to cough for air again.

"Alright that's enough teen angst, here." She handed him something that looked like a small spray bottle. "Spray this medicine down your throat and inhale it whenever you break into a coughing fit and can't breathe so it will go into your lungs. It may not cure the ailment, but it will help you to continue living for many years to come. It will be an adjustment to your lifestyle, but if you want to keep on living and not die, it's all that we can do for you."

Ed lowered his brow up at her, "But I don't have any money to pay you for this. This isn't part of the cancer study you conducted on me."

"No, but it's because of those experiments that you have the ailment. So it's the least I can do to try and help make things right." She gave a peace/victory sign.

Ed smiled thankfully, "Thank you Shelly." He stood up. "For everything, so much, I feel like I'm in debt to you."

"And remember Ed, I'm always here if you need more medicine, or feel sick and need a check up. Don't forget me, and come back. I hope to see you next year for your annual exam, and you'd better be healthy mister, you got it?" She winked.

"Trust me Shelly, you gave me another chance at life, you are a good nice person. I won't ever forget you."

"I'll make sure he remembers to keep his promise." Al smiled at her and then turned to Ed. "And I'll always be there for you too brother, no matter what."

"Of course you will Al, and I know that because, I'll always be there for you, just like I swore."

Nurse Rosemary smiled as the boys looked at each other with a determined smile on their faces, "Oh yay, everybody's happy again, big group hug!" She brought them both in close. It caused the boys both to smile. She was hugging them, just the way teacher had once did.

Ed closed his eyes and whispered, "Thank you."

And so the brothers gathered their things and left the university hospital lab and headed back home. They didn't have any money for fare back this time however, they were flat broke! But, where a door closes a window opens, and they did have one more option...

"Aw, come on, there goes another one." Al groaned, a car passing them as they tried to hitch hike and so far nobody was picking them up.

"Come on you jerk!" Ed roared, throwing a fit but coughed and took a puff of the medicine spray bottle.

"Still the same old Ed." Al smirked.

"Yup. No matter what happens to me Al, I'll always be the same ol Ed. Because it's not a body that makes us human, it's our souls. And you can count on me for that one."

"Good, I'm glad, cause here comes another car."

"Come on, be a pal, pick us up!" Ed jumped up and down, his thumb out, and the car stopped and pulled over.

"Ah!" Ed and Al beamed and rushed over.

"Hey, thanks a lot there pal!" Ed leaned into the window and paused, then smiled as the man stared back at him. He looked just like a smaller (less sparkly) Armstrong.

And so as the boys headed back home, night began to fall as the man drove them all the way since it was on the way to his own destination. Al looked over at Ed who was sleeping peacefully and resting his head against him. Ed was mumbling in his sleep, but Al was smiling. It seemed like it had been forever since the last time he saw his brother sleeping so well and that they both had been so happy together. Ed still may be sick and he might be like that forever until the day he dies, but at least they were together and would be for a long time, sick or not, weak or strong, heaven or hell. They both knew come what may they would always been brothers in each others arms. Al put his arm over his brother so he would rest more comfortably. Ed may be the older one, but Al always had to keep the level head and look out for him, Ed would ignore orders and Al would always obey and remember things when Ed didn't listen. They made a good team, they were the yin and yang halves that made a whole. Al smiled and closed his eyes as he too started to drift off into sleep amid his own happy thoughts. They worked so well together as a team, and maybe again, it was because, they were brothers, and their love for each other was the strongest bond that could ever exist in the world, this one or the next.

'I made a promise to you, and I swear forever to keep it. To do anything no matter what happens...'