Chapter Fifteen-Delusion

This place felt peaceful. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the sound of wind chimes could be heard nearby. The wind blew in through the window, brushing Edward's hair into his face, tickling his nose. Turning on his side, the breeze picked up some,carrying the sound of voices inside. It was the sweet sound of laughter beckoning him to wake up. Sleepily he opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. Something in his head immediately triggered his suspicions. He knew this place from long ago, however it seemed a little different. The walls were painted a soft blue and he was laying on a twin sized bed that matched the one on the other side of the room. The large window was open, causing the white cotton drapes to dance softly. Outside, green hills seem to go on forever and in the distance was the distinct sound of sheep.

'Resembol?'

He sat up quickly and sure enough a second glance around the room confirmed that's where he was. This was Al and his room from when they were little. 'But we burnt the house down.' This whole situation didn't feel real and it bothered him. Getting to his feet, he glanced down and moved his left leg some and actually sighed in relief that it was still automail. At least that much made sense. He recognized Winry's voice from outside and headed over to the window. The scene before him caused his jaw to drop. Out in the yard, Winry was sitting on the grass holding a baby while another woman stood nearby hanging up laundry. Normally she wore a simple purple dress with a white apron, on this particularly warm summer day, she wore a plan green dress.

"He's gotten so big these past couple of months hasn't he?" Her voice only confirmed who she was and Edward found himself having a difficult time breathing. Taking a step back from the window, he brought his hand up, grasping the side of his head as though it would help him figure this out.

"This can't be real. I don't get what's going on." Angrily he hurried out of the room and took the stairs two at a time. The living room and kitchen were just as he remembered them too. Nothing out of place or different. A solid wooden door off to the side of the living room caught his eye and he rushed over, opening it. Sure enough, his dad's office was as it always was. Books left opened on the desk while papers cluttered the floor. Off to the side stood an all too familiar suit of armor. Gritting his teeth, he slammed the door shut and hurried outside now. As he got closer to Winry and his mom, the brunette turned and smiled at him.

"And there's my little man. So you're finally awake."

"What are you talking about? Where are we?" She turned to Winry and received a concerned look in response.

"Ed, are you feeling okay?" Winry took a second to stand up, still holding the small boy in her arms. "You got back about a day ago and have been sleeping a lot."

"But how'd we get back here? And why's the house still here?"

"Well Edward, I didn't move." He practically glared at the woman before him.

"And who are you?" His tone clearly upset her and she lowered her head, staring at the basket in her hands.

"I'm just going to head back inside now and let you two talk." Her statement was directed more to Winry then her son. He watched her suspiciously as she headed back in the house.

"Why'd you have to be so rude, Ed?" As gently as possible he took her by the shoulders and took in a deep breath trying to calm down.

"Winry, what's going on here? How'd we get back in Resembol?"

"What do you mean 'we'? You're the one who left, remember?" He was obviously becoming quickly irritated.

"I don't understand what you're talking about. The two of us were just in Central with Al and May." She jerked her shoulders hard out of his grasp.

"You're the only one who left, Ed! And whose May? Al's still in the South. He was never in Central." Her explanation didn't deter him though.

"And why's the house still here? Better yet, whose that woman? Mom died and Al and I burnt the house down years ago!" He was becoming exasperated and it only caused his temper to rise. "How can you forget all this, Al lost his body and I lost my arm and leg for trying to bring her back. You're the one who gave me automail." Winry brought her head down and looked at the child in her arms who didn't seem to realize they were fighting.

"I'm sorry Edward. It all sounds like a horrible dream." Clearly she was getting upset now too as her voice dropped down to a low tone. "That's not what happened though. You and Al left to join the military and you lost you leg about two years ago. You came home for automail surgery before leaving again for Central." Edward took a step away from her and brought his hands on either side of his head.

"No, that's not what happened!"

"Do you even remember us? That we're married." He dropped his hands and moved back to her, cupping her face in his palm.

"Of course I do, that's the only thing that makes any sense."

"Then why isn't that enough for you? Why aren't we enough for you." His amber gaze dropped to the baby and he suddenly backed away from the two of them. He had to be alone to figure this all out. His distance caused Winry to become even more upset.

"I need some time...I need to go think." Without another word, he turned and hurried away from her, heading towards the river. Winry watched sadly as he left. There was nothing she could do.

oOoOo

Sitting by the river could only help clear his thoughts so much as he lazily drew transmutation circles in the dirt. It was just one of those habits that he had never given up even though he was unable to use alchemy. He so badly just wanted to accept this, to admit this was his life and that everything that had happened was just a nightmare. But he wasn't that lucky. Maybe if he could talk to Alphonse, he could help shed some light on all of this. Just trying to come to a conclusion caused his head to hurt.

"Why? Who would want to torture me with this? I don't want to know what my life would have been like if...if.." He wondered if this was some kind of second chance. Something he didn't deserve. His mind wondered to the child that Winry was holding. As cute as he might have been that wasn't their baby. Maybe it was because he didn't feel anything towards it but what had really bothered him was the fact that the child didn't look like either one of them. It looked like Alphonse did when he was a baby. Another idea entered his head that scared him even more then all these strange facts. What if they were dead? That's the only thing he could think of that would explain his mother being there. But then why would he still have automail? Glancing up from his doodles, he realized the sun was setting. This had always been his favorite part of the day, when the sky had a pleasant orange glow to it and everything around looked kind of rusty. Forcing himself up, he stuck his hands in his pockets and started back. Until he had everything figured out, he would do his best to try and enjoy being here. But deep down he knew this was all fake even if he couldn't prove it. Walking into the house again, the smell of dinner mixed with the fragrance of home brought back so many memories and he stood there for a minute taking it in. It was all too familiar, a feeling that he thought he'd never experience again.

"Oh Ed, you're back." He snapped his eyes open to see his mother standing there, washing a dish in her hand. "Well dinners almost ready if you're hungry." She seemed unsure of him now and he hated seeing the look she gave him. He took a hesitant step forward, about to reach out for her but stopped himself.

"Listen, about earlier..." He scratched the back of his head and looked away from her. "I didn't mean to snap like that, I'm sorry." He bowed some out of respect. She smiled lightly at him. His mother could never stay angry with him.

"Edward," she started and he straightened up. She hugged him tightly and he found himself once more taking in her scent. It was just as he remembered it. She always smelled like flowers.

"Winry told me about the bad dream you had, it's all going to be okay." Pulling back, she smiled up at him. "Besides if I held a grudge every time you did something so impulsive, I'd have disowned you a long time ago." His shoulders slouched and he let out a sigh.

"Gee, thanks mom." She laughed back at him.

"Now take your boots off. I won't have you stomping through my clean house with that mud all over you." As he wondered into the kitchen, he caught sight of Winry setting the table. She glanced up at him and her expression became worrisome.

"Hey," He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Are you alright?" She headed towards him.

"Yeah, I guess. You probably think I'm crazy or something."

"I would never think that. I'm just glad you came back." Winry hugged him around the waist and pressed her head against his chest. Trisha came into the kitchen and shook her head in disbelief.

"Alright, alright. Save it for later. Dinner should be ready." She headed over to the stove and checked the contents of the pot. Winry went back to placing the dishes on the table and Edward noticed the baby on the floor, playing with a wooden spoon.

"Hey mom, do all babies like spoons or something?" He leaned down to the toddler and patted him on the head.

"Usually, why?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Alphonse always played with them. That's all." Once the stew was served up, they all sat down. Sure enough it was just as Edward remembered it. Across the table, he watched his mom feed the baby. Carefully, she blew on each bite before offering it to him. "So how old is he anyway?"

"How could you not know something like that?" Trisha scolded him.

"Well you said I've been away for awhile. I was just curious."

"He's fifteen months old," Winry explained. They wouldn't like Ed's other questions so he kept quiet. Besides this scene before him was really starting to bother him as he watched the baby knock the entire bowl of stew off his highchair and when Trisha became exasperated by it, the baby clapped and laughed in response. A scene he had witnessed when he was little and they were trying to teach Al to eat grown up food. He even remembered as a toddler what his response was to Al's mess.

"Mom, Al was bad and knocked his stew all over the floor," he'd announced to her like she hadn't seen it for herself. "He's not big like me, he's still just a baby." At the time she agreed with him and told him finish his food while she cleaned up the mess.

When dinner was finished, he offered to do the dishes, hoping it would be another opportunity to gather his thoughts. He seemed to be having a hard time with that lately. When he was done, he found himself wondering through the living room, looking at old pictures.

"Hey mom, how come you don't have any pictures from the wedding? Even Pinako got some."

"You know she was suppose to get me some and I guess she forgot. Besides, I like the ones I have of you boys when you were little." It wasn't just the fact that she had none from Winry and his wedding but there weren't any newer ones of him and Al. These pictures were the same ones he always remembered her having. Silently he headed for his dad's office and shut the door. Walking quickly over to one of the bookcases, he found an old leather journal. One he knew all too well. Flipping to a blank page, he grabbed a pen off the desk and started jotting notes to himself.

-Connection to Al and...

He paused, realizing he didn't know the babies name and hadn't heard his mom or Winry use the infants name once in front of him. He went to the next point.

The babies name

-Pictures

-The house appearance

He stopped and closed the book. That was all he could think of for now. Looking around the room, he grimaced at the mess. How his mother could stand it he didn't know. Deciding it would take his mind off of everything for awhile he started to straighten things up some. As he cleaned, his curiosity got the better of him and he found himself standing in front of the suit of armor that once housed Al's soul. That night was so vivid in his mind, there was no way it was just made up. He slide his hand across the front of it, noting the scratches going across the metal. There were also obvious places where alchemy had been used to fuse it back together. Finally the question that had been tugging at his mind got the better of him and he started to unbuckle the chest plate. Complete shock took over his expression as he stared inside. On the back side of the armor was a single transmutation circle drawn in his blood.

A/N-Aha reviews please, thank you! Cause you love me. XD This chapter reminded me of Inception. But without the cool special effects.