Hello again, honorable readers! I meant to get this up last night, but one of the cows calved and it's freezing here. Also, I apologize for the suckiness of this chapter. My nephew's dad is giving my sister a hard time, so things have been a little rocky around here. That and my new schedule at school is killing me.
Disclaimer: I, SakuraLetters, own nothing here but the plot and the baby. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to the brilliant Hiromu Arakawa, not me. Carrie Underwood owns the song "Temporary Home", which provides the inspiration for this fic. Pre-chapter quotes come from the middle of the song.
At night she whispers to her baby girl, "Someday we'll find our place here in this world."
-"Temporary Home", by Carrie Underwood
The funny thing about having a child to look after is that you begin to see things differently. You think more in terms of years than days. Winry didn't even realize it herself until one of her younger customers (too young to really judge her for being a single mother; Winry didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that) pointed it out to her.
The little boy (whose arm had been mangled in a freak accident hardly a year earlier) had become a sort of confident, in a way. Granted he was too young to fully appreciate the complexities of society, he offered a fresh perspective. He never failed to ask if he could see Erika, and would play with her if his older sister, an aspiring auto mail mechanic, wanted to watch Winry work. Erika loved the attention, and Winry didn't protest; it kept the infant (who had figured out how to walk more than a foot before falling) occupied and (for the most part) out of trouble.
Erika was about to turn a year old in a few weeks, and was starting to attempt speech. The utter humor in watching the little girl attempt to organize the (to her, random) syllables into an actual word only proved that Erika was being cared for by people with rather twisted senses of humor.
It had been almost two years since Winry had last seen the Elric brothers, and almost a year since Pinako died and Winry left Risembool. Winry had decided to teach her daughter about her father, and had often shown little Erika photographs of him and Alphonse as she told her stories about them. So, perhaps it was no surprise what Erika's first word would be.
It had been a rather quiet evening and Winry was taking the opportunity to go through some old photo albums with Erika. The year-old had settled comfortably in her mother's lap, completely engrossed in the photos Winry was showing her (yet another bit of proof that Ed was without a doubt the father; only his child could have that intense concentration). After a few minutes, Erika pointed to a photo of Ed and Winry in one of those rare moments when Ed was home. Winry had been torn between blushing like crazy and bursting into tears when she first found it. Still, Winry couldn't bring herself to part with it.
"Dada…" Erika said slowly, pointing at Ed.
Winry felt tears well up in her eyes. Erika looked up at her mother. "Dada?" she asked, seeking confirmation. Winry wiped the tears away and nodded.
"Yes, sweetheart, that's your daddy."
"Mama…no…cwy," Erika said, noticing the tears in Winry's eyes.
"It's okay, Erika," Winry said as she pulled her daughter into a hug. "Everything is going to be okay."
That night, with Erika sleeping soundly in her cradle, Winry counted the money she had saved up. If everything worked out, she would be able to get an apartment in Central soon and could stop imposing on Mr. Garfiel.
Once again, I apologize for the suckiness. I promise to do better next time. I think there are only about three or four more chapters left depending on how the story goes. I'm trying to use a "snapshot" writing style. It only works in small doses. T.T Please review!
Until next time!
-SakuraLetters