Chapter Nine-Surprising News

Winry sat there, stunned. She wasn't sure if she'd heard right but for some reason this prognosis scared her. There were so many things she still wanted to do with her life. Why did Edward have to be gone right now, she needed him here. She just wasn't ready to handle something like this cand even an hour after the doctor left the Rockbell house, she still remained in her room. Finally coming to grips with reality, she moved from the bed and pulled out her suitcase. As she quickly started to pack she heard her door open and Pinako clear her throat.

"I spoke with the doctor. I really don't think you're in any condition to be going anywhere." Turning back to her grandma, Winry tried desperately to not start crying.

"I have to be with Ed. I need to tell him what's going on."

"Well I certainly am not going to stop you, but I think you need to make sure to take it easy."

"Okay, I will."

"Just let me know when you get in." Pinako turned and headed down the hallway. Winry was surprised she didn't try to stop her. When it came to her health, her grandma usually was the one to put her foot down and tell her to stay in bed. But this was not something she could tell Ed over the phone. He deserved to hear it in person.

oOoOo

Another day had gone by and with no odd activity it was difficult to find any leads to the attack on Central. Edward had expected the military wouldn't come to the same dead end he had come to. At least he had gotten to spend some time with Alphonse and May. Before dinner, he had tried to call Winry but no one answered the phone at home which he found kind of odd. Just as he made it back to the table he paused when he noticed there was a fourth chair pulled up and someone sitting in it. His mouth pulled into a thin line and his amber gaze narrowed at General Mustang.

"I swear, you're following us." Ed's voice came out in a sarcastic flat tone.

"I'll have you know Alphonse invited me to come eat with you." Edward's mouth shifted to the side of his face as did his gaze to his brother. Al sank some in his seat.

"That's just great Al, now we have to feed him."

"Actually I was going to offer to pay but if this is the welcome I get, maybe I should take my money elsewhere." Ed took his seat quickly and grabbed his menu.

"Well since you're already here, there's no need to leave." Once the food was ordered, Roy got right to the point.

"So I guess if this thing doesn't show itself again, we're gonna have a difficult time locating it. Anything like this ever happen in Xing?" The question was directed towards May but she just shrugged back.

"Not that I'm aware of. Things over there have been pretty peaceful."

"One day you should visit. It's really pretty and you could always learn alkehestry, Brother." Ed laughed at the idea. He didn't think Winry would want him to leave the country. Just thinking about her made him wonder if she was feeling any better and got to see the doctor.

oOoOo

"I'm so sorry ma'am, but Mr. Elric hasn't been here all day." The blond let out a tired sigh and had this slight desire to give the man behind the front counter a piece of her mind but she held back. She had been all over the place looking for her husband and he was nowhere that she could think of. Of course the sensible thing to do would be to just wait for him but instead she decided to go check back at Central Command again. All this running around was wearing her out.

"Ed, if you knew what I had to talk to you about, you wouldn't be running all over the place right now."

oOoOo

After dinner, the four from the restaurant headed out to the street. There were several street lights out still from the attack, one of the only damages visible at this hour. Ed just wanted to sleep after a meal like that. Central always did have some pretty good places to eat. As he listened to Al and May talk about everything that seemed different about the city since they'd been there, he realized he needed to call Winry again. Hopefully this time he got an answer, especially at this hour. He felt Mustang nudged his arm.

"You look like you're thinking awfully hard over there."

"Oh it's nothing, just didn't get an answer when I called home earlier."

"So no one wanted to talk to you, what's the big deal?" Ed arched an eyebrow.

"You know I think you have a phobia about settling down." Roy returned his quizzical look.

"Really?"

"Well you've been busting me the whole time I've been here and Hughes used to drive you crazy. And then there's the fact that you're a pervert."

"You're being ridiculous. I just enjoy bothering you about anything that'll annoy you, which is quite a lot." Edward smirked back.

"Yeah, I think the idea of settling down makes you feel old." Despite how irritating this conversation was in fact to the General, he wouldn't give Ed the satisfaction of being right, ever.

"Please. I'm in my prime and I can get any woman I want. I don't have to answer to anyone which is great." Before Ed could respond, he heard his name yelled out from behind and turned around to see Winry walking briskly towards him.

"Winry?"

"Like that." Roy pointed back to her over his shoulder with his thumb. Al and May turned back as well, happy to see her.

"Winry," Al called out. "We didn't think we'd get to see you." Edward itched his cheek as he waited for her to reach him.

"Yeah, I tried to call earlier and there wasn't an answer. I was kind of worried. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to find you!" She brought out a wrench and smacked him in the side of the head, knocking him over. Roy looked down at him with a grin.

"How's that married bliss you were talking about, treating you now?" He got up quickly, holding his head.

"Wait, this isn't fair. I've called you almost every day. I told you I'd be gone this long so why are you mad?" Between the two of them, one of them had to be level headed in a fight.

"Because I've been running all over this city trying to find you." She actually started to tear up, her bottom lip quivering and causing Ed to panic.

"I'm sorry, we just got finished with dinner. If I had known you were coming I would have met you at the station. Are you still sick?" She shook her head, trying to calm down some.

"I wasn't sick Ed, I'm pregnant."