I'd like to thank everyone who participated in my survey. It pretty much supported what I was thinking about doing, but I just wanted to run it up the flagpole and see who saluted ^^;

Chapter 17

It was a wonderful show, and if she had not been so distracted, it would have been one of the high points of her life, right after getting her chuva from Papa and finally getting to call him Papa for real. Papa, of course, was more important, and it made her angry and sad that he wasn't sitting next to her. But then one of the clowns would do something really funny, or one of the people way up on the tightrope or the trapeze would do an amazing trick, and she would forget for just a few minutes.

The big cats came out with Mr. Heinkle and Miss Felicity and acted fierce. The rest of the audience got nervous because they didn't use a cage, but Danika knew better. When the elephants came out for their act, she succumbed to enthrallment. The band played and the elephants danced to the music. It was like when Uncle Dejan and his people played music for a celebration and everybody danced. Todd moved in and out between them, much like a dancer himself, giving them cues on the next steps. At one point, Todd and Petal did a little dance together, the other elephants circling around them. Todd held the end of Petal's trunk daintily, moving back and forth with her or around in a circle. They ended their duet with Todd dropping to one knee in front of Petal and kissing the tip of her trunk. It was so wonderful that even Mama smiled.

But then one of the elephants had to pause for a moment relieve herself, which everyone thought was really funny, although Danika felt embarrassed for her. But she didn't seem to mind. Especially when one of the clowns, who looked very sad, wheeled out a trash can and shoveled the elephant poop into it. At one point, two of the elephants, Daisy and Violet, crowded close to the clown. He scowled up at Violet while Daisy stole his shovel and carried it away. Before he could chase after her, Violet wrapped her trunk around his waist, lifted him up, and circled around the ring with him. At one point she paused by the trashcan and held him over it head first while the crowd yelled encouragement. But then she turned him right side up and set him on his feet. Edward laughed so hard that Danika thought he was going to hurt himself. When the clown finally wheeled his trashcan away, the audience cheered for him, but he didn't seem very happy about it.

Finally the show ended and Danika didn't join in on the applause as much as everyone else, even though she loved the show. She felt dejection come on. It meant that they would be leaving soon and going home without Papa. Then Ed leaned over toward Mama.

"Do you want to go out on the midway?" he asked. He smiled. "Maybe I can win a prize for the kids."

Danika hadn't really had a chance to pay very much attention to Ed until now. He seemed to be a friend of Papa's like Winry was, and he just came into their family like Winry did. Despite the upheaval they were going through right now, or perhaps because of it, Ed's presence was somewhat reassuring. Mama returned his smile a little wearily.

"They'd love that, Edward," she said. Danika was inclined to agree with her. "But I'd rather not stay too long."

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Ed assured her. "I've got pretty good aim. It'll be no time at all!"

Danika was all for this idea. It meant that they weren't going home just yet and they would be staying near Papa for a little while longer. It was even possible that she might catch a glimpse of him or he of her. It would give him a moment of reassurance; she could certainly use one herself.

The midway, as Ed called it, was like a very busy day at the marketplace, except it was at night. Light bulbs strung on wires stretched overhead, making everything bright and festive looking. There were many of their neighbors, schoolmates, and soldiers walking around, playing games and looking at things to buy. There were also a number of those reporters out as well, which wasn't so festive. There were good food smells in the air, and Edward bought her and Winry some cotton candy. Danika had never had it before and it was wonderful! As they walked along the rows of booths, she gobbled the spun sugar down to its paper cone. Then she felt bad because she hadn't saved any for Papa.

While Mama and Winry held the babies, they watched Ed shoot at little duck-shaped targets with a sort of rifle at one of the game booths. He was not as good at as he thought he was. The little ducks moved along their conveyor belt in relative safety. Zhaarad Havoc and Zhaarana Eyla stopped to watch him. After a few more fruitless efforts, Havoc let out a groan of frustration and took the gun out of Ed's hands.

"It's a good thing we never had to depend on your skills as a sniper, Fullmetal."

Ed huffed. "You can do better, huh?"

Havoc gave him a look of patient indulgence, then handed some money to the man running the booth. The ducks were set up again (the few Ed manage to actually hit) and set in motion. Havoc held the rifle up to his shoulder and started shooting. The little birds had no chance and they fell one after the other. When he ran out of shots, the proprietor pointed to a row of stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling of his booth. Havoc turned to Danika.

"Whaddya say, Little Bit?" He stepped back to let her get a closer look. "You get first pick."

Danika gave a soft little gasp and looked up, wide-eyed. She pointed to a pink elephant. "Can I have that one?"

"One pink elephant for the little lady!" Havoc announced, and he handed her the stuffed elephant. "And if you're a good girl, that's the only kind you'll ever see!"

Danika wasn't sure what he was talking about, but she hugged the toy. "Thank you!" she breathed.

Havoc picked up the rifle again and handed the proprietor more money. "Okay, this one's for the little guy." He looked back at Ed. "That's Mattas."

Ed sneered at him. "Real funny, Blondie."

Havoc just laughed and set about knocking down some more ducks. As appreciative as Danika was, it was too noisy for her, although the babies thought it was great. Danika backed up a little, which no one seemed to notice. Then an idea struck her and she made a decision. While Havoc continued shooting and joking with Ed and the ladies laughed along with them, Danika began to move slowly away. As soon as she felt she'd gone far enough, she darted off. She really wasn't sure where to start looking, but she knew she couldn't leave without somehow finding out where Papa was.

She moved from one pocket of shadow to another, holding her elephant, which she had already named Petal, tightly in her arms. At one point she saw Uncle Miles and Aunt Vesya strolling along a row of booths. Danika ducked between two of the booths and waited until they passed by. She felt awful about doing that. She would normally have enlisted their help, but Uncle Miles had been very firm about Papa hiding and he would probably scold her and wouldn't let her look anymore. She couldn't afford to let that happen.

She waited for a few more moments, then stepped back out, glancing off to her left to see Miles and Vesya turn a corner up ahead. As soon as they were out of sight, she turned to continue on her way. But she bumped straight into someone.

"Whoa, there!" a man's voice said. "You might want to keep an eye on where you're going, kiddo!"

With a start of alarm, Danika looked up into the face of an Amestrian man. He was flanked by two others, and it took her a moment to recognize them as some of the reporters she had seen inside the circus tent, the ones at whom she had stuck out her tongue. All three of them were smiling at her, so either they hadn't noticed or they weren't holding it against her. The one who had spoken, however, had his hand firmly on her shoulder as though to steady her. Although her heart had started pounding, her balance was perfectly fine and she didn't need any help. She tried to pull away, but the man kept holding her shoulder.

"Are you lost?" he asked her. He sounded kind, but there was something not quite right about this. "Are you looking for your folks?"

One of Danika's earliest memories was of her mother telling her not to talk to strangers, Amestrians especially. Papa had since taught her that she should indeed be cautious, but she should at least show some basic courtesy. All of this went straight out of her head and she just stared up at the three men. One of the others bent down, planting the heels of his hands on his knees, and grinned at her.

"Would you like us to help you?" he asked.

Danika's arms tightened harder around her elephant. What had started out as a good idea wasn't so good anymore. She didn't want to have anything to do with these men, but it seemed that it would be difficult to get away from them.

"Are you looking for your mom?" the first man asked. "Or maybe your dad?"

Danika flinched. It really was too uncanny. The reporter moved around behind her, keeping a gentle pressure on her shoulder. He lowered himself to one knee next to her like he thought he was one of her uncles. Now she was surrounded. The reporter looked up at one of his friends. "Bates?"

Bates reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a folded up newspaper. He held it out so Danika could see it.

"Is this your dad?"

They were standing under one of the strings of lights so that both the paper and her face were illuminated. When Danika looked at the picture, her mouth dropped open and she sucked in an audible gasp. She hadn't meant to, but she couldn't help it.

"Bingo," she heard the man just behind her say, his voice quietly triumphant.

The grin on the face of the man holding the paper grew a little wider. "I gotta hand it to you, McGraw," he said. "You're good."

"My gut has never lied to me." The man behind her gave her shoulder a little reassuring squeeze, but it only made her more terrified. "So, little miss," he said to her. "How about me and Uncle Bates and Uncle Greggs help you find Daddy?"

As she stared at the pictures in the paper, her vision seemed to go dim and she felt like she couldn't move. At a complete loss, she did the only thing she could think of doing. She began to fill up her lungs to let out a scream.

"Danika!"

The air spilled out of her lungs silently and the men crowding around her stirred. One of them was even pushed aside and another set of hands dropped down on her shoulders. She was turned around to face Stoyan. She was never so glad to see him in her life. He studied her face and his expression grew gravely dark. "Are you all right?"

She managed to give a hint of a nod and she slipped around behind him, gripping the hem of his shirt with one hand and holding on tightly to her elephant with the other. Stoyan looked around at the reporters. "What were you doing to her?" he demanded furiously.

The first man spread his hands. "Nothing!" he protested with wounded innocence. "She looked like she was lost, so we offered to help her find her parents."

"Yeah!" the other reporter, Bates, agreed. "Do you people always get so bent outta shape over nothing?"

"Nothing?" Stoyan snapped back. "Haven't you people done enough to us?"

"All we're trying to do is inform the public," Bates replied calmly. "Nothin' wrong with that."

The first reporter, McGraw, had been narrowly eyeing Stoyan. "This is the guy from the governor's office! The one that gave us such a hard time. Seems like your boss is another slippery character." He waved one of his hands to indicate their surroundings. "I'm sensing a pattern here."

"Me too!" the third reporter, Greggs, chimed in. He jerked his chin at Stoyan. "What's your story, Morning Glory?"

The reporters moved in a little closer to them, but Stoyan stood rooted to the ground. "You're nothing but a bunch of parasites!" he growled huskily.

The reporters made a show of glancing at each other a little indignantly. "That's kind of harsh," Bates remarked.

"They say the truth hurts!" Stoyan countered.

"Funny you should bring up truth," McGraw replied calmly. "I'm getting the distinct impression that you're all trying to hide something." He took the paper from Bates and held it in front of Stoyan's face. "Or someone."

Danika couldn't bring herself to look at the picture again and she buried her face in the plush fabric of her elephant. She couldn't understand why Stoyan didn't just take her away. Then he shouted, and his voice didn't even sound like his.

"Bastards! What do you even hope to—"

"Oh, hey! There you are!"

Danika's eyes flew open and she looked around. Edward jogged up to Stoyan's side and threw an arm around his shoulders. "We've been looking all over!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

Stoyan tried to jerk away from him. "Leave me—"

Ed cut him off, keeping his arm firmly on his shoulders. "Good thing you found her, Stoyan! Rada's been looking all over for her! She's been worried sick!" He waved at the reporters with a grin. "Catch you later, fellas!"

Ed steered Stoyan around and marched him away, nearly dragging Danika behind them, still clutching a handful of Stoyan's shirt. They were moving very quickly and she almost stumbled, but she was too relieved to complain.

"Your sense of loyalty is really great," Edward muttered after they had put some distance between them and the reporters. "But it just about got you in trouble. You have any idea what a mess you would have started back there if I hadn't shown up?"

Danika looked up to see Stoyan push Edward away. "Filthy Amestrian bastards!" he hissed furiously.

Edward gave him a shove back. "Hey, cool off!" he growled.

"Don't tell me to cool off!" Stoyan snapped. "What good have you done since you came here?"

Edward stared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You come limping in, forcing yourself on Zhaarad Andakar's family—"

"I wasn't forcing myself on anybody!" Edward shot back. "I came here to find Winry, who I think you've been moving in on, by the way!"

Stoyan stopped. Edward stopped. Danika stopped and looked up at them. They glared at each other and had their fists clenched. Danika finally managed to find her voice.

"Stop it!" she cried.

The young men flinched and turned to her, startled. She glowered tearfully back and forth at them. "Don't fight!" she scolded. "It's not nice! People shouldn't hurt other people!"

The sharp tension slowly dissipated. Edward was the first to relax. He nodded. "You're sure right about that, Danika," he told her.

Stoyan's shoulders slumped and he gave Edward a grudgingly rueful look. "I lost my temper," he said calmly. "I apologize." A very small, grim smile pulled at his mouth. "We're on the same side, after all."

Edward gave a quiet laugh and returned the smile. "I'm tempted to say that's stretching a point, but that's sort of been my whole history with Sc—your Zhaarad Andakar."

:0 :0 :0

The reporters remained where they were, watching the two young men lead the little girl away. Greggs let out a bitter grunt.

"Well, that was a trip for biscuits!" he observed morosely.

McGraw smiled. "Oh, not at all, Greggie," he replied. "I think we gathered up a whole world of information." He turned to regard his colleagues with a satisfied look. "We've got one more day here in this crapper of a place. We just need to keep our eyes on that little girl."

Once all the fun from the circus had worn off, the rest of the evening had been a somewhat trying one. Not so much for Ed. This wasn't his crisis, but it was hard to watch this family's brave face crumble around the edges. Rada and Winry put the kids to bed as soon as they got home. Danika had protested that Papa wasn't there to listen to her say her prayers. Rada, even her patience growing thin, told her that Ishvala could hear her prayers just fine even if her Papa wasn't there. Danika had to content herself with this and trudged off to bed, a sorrowful little figure.

Ed could sympathize with her. He still remembered his own fear and confusion and anger when he realized that his father was gone. Whatever his own opinion of Scar was, which would likely always be somewhat mixed, the man was this little girl's hero. A pack of newshounds might split them up for a couple of days, but it would probably take more than the end of the world to tear Scar from his family. Danika was actually pretty lucky, but Ed wasn't going to insult her by trying to convince her of that right now.

Although she was clearly exhausted and dejected, Rada went off to her room to make sure Ed had some blankets and a pillow. While she was gone, Ed sat down on the bench where he would be sleeping. The cushion felt comfortable enough. He noticed that his suitcase was on the floor close by. At least Stoyan wasn't all talk. Much to Ed's relief, Dejan collared Stoyan on the way home, chattering about the merits of the circus band, and dragged him home. Ed didn't really bear the young Ishvalan any serious ill will, but it had been an extremely long day and he wasn't up for any more competitive helpfulness.

He hadn't really been paying attention, but after several minutes had gone by, Winry announced that she was going to check on Rada.

"It doesn't matter," Ed said. "She certainly doesn't have to rush on my account. She can take her time."

"That's not it," Winry replied. She strode toward the hall.

Ed jumped up. "No, Winry! It's all right!"

He hoped to head her off, but she had already made it to the door of the master bedroom, where she stopped. Looking over her shoulder, Ed could see Rada sitting on the edge of the bed. She was holding a pillow, her face buried and her shoulders shaking with sobs. Winry gave a little cry and rushed to sit beside her, putting her arms around her.

After a few moments, Rada raised her head and looked at Winry with utter misery. "Ever since our wedding," she managed to get out, "we've never spent a night apart!" Her head dropped down again and her weeping renewed.

Ed watched them, feeling wretchedly helpless. "You know, it's okay, I...uh...don't need a pillow," he murmured. It was probably Scar's pillow and Rada didn't look like she wanted to part with it. It would have felt weird anyway.

Winry nodded to a wooden chest at the foot of the bed. "I think there are blankets in there," she said, keeping her voice hushed. "Go ahead and take one."

Ed opened up the carved lid of the dark, red-hued wooden chest, revealing neatly folded bed linen and a soft woven wool blanket. He pulled it out. "Right," he declared. "I'm set." He gave Rada a final sympathetic look, but Winry seemed to have the situation under control and he left. After a short trip to the bathroom, he went back out to his makeshift bed. After pulling off his shoes, he lay back on the cushioned bench, spreading the blanket over himself. He left the lantern burning and waited for Winry to come back out.

The next thing he knew, the room was dark and there was the muffled sound of someone crying frantically. He sat up and glanced around, disoriented, and he could still hear crying. He thought at first that he'd only dozed off for a few minutes and it was Rada that he was hearing. Then he realized that it was a child. He could barely make out the shape of the lantern on the round table in the dimness, and he leaned forward to grope for the box of matches, which wasn't there. He could now hear other voices coming from the hallway, and he got up and moved toward the sound. Then the hallway was filled with lantern light and he squinted against it. Shading his eyes, he nearly bumped into Rada. She was heading straight for Danika's room, and Winry was heading there as well from the other direction. Ed followed them in, just in case they needed him.

In her pajamas, Winry stood by the bed, holding the lantern. Danika was sitting up and Rada sat on the bed next to her, holding her and stroking her hair. "It's all right, sweetheart," she said soothingly. "It was just a bad dream, wasn't it?"

Her terrified weeping had subsided somewhat, and Danika nodded. "It was—was horrible awful!" she sobbed. "I dreamed about—about that Kimlee man again!"

Ed gave a start and exchanged a look with Winry. Rada let out a sigh and held her daughter tightly, kissing the top of her head. "Oh, my poor baby! You haven't had a dream like that for a while."

"I—I—know! It was—so bad!"

Ed had experienced a number of terrible dreams in his life, visions conjured up in his subconcious and grotesquely distorted. Danika had never even seen Kimblee, but he was still moving her to terror. Ed stepped closer to the bed. Perhaps he could be of some use after all. "Kimblee is long gone, Danika," he said gently. "He can't do anything to hurt you."

Danika drew in a few deep breaths, desperately trying to calm herself. "I—I know he's gone," she managed to say. "But my dream was still—still really bad! I dreamed that Kimlee was—was taking Papa away, and he said I would never ever see him again!" Her face crumpled up again and she could barely sob out, "And he still didn't have a face!"

"Oh." Ed had to admit, that would have frightened him, too. "Um...you know, I think I can say that I'm the last person to see Kimblee..." He couldn't really say alive because he wasn't, really. But that would have been to hard to explain. "...alive. I can tell you for a fact that he absolutely can't do anything to take your papa away."

Danika looked up at him and he continued, figuring that he was on a roll. "But you know, even if he tried, he couldn't do it, because you've got a whole bunch of people around you who will stop him."

Of course, when Ed thought about it, people who got in Kimblee's way tended to get either killed or seriously harmed. Danika didn't need to know that. She had already grown calmer and was leaning wearily against her mother.

"Do you want to come into my room for the rest of the night, sweetheart?" Rada asked.

Danika nodded, some of her misery tempered by this and Rada stood up, giving Ed and Winry a grateful look. "Thank you!" she whispered.

Winry lit the way for them as Rada led Danika into her room, then she turned to Ed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Good job, Ed! That was nice of you."

Ed shrugged. "Glad I could help." He stifled a yawn. "But I really have had all the excitement I can take for one day without having it spill into the next day."

"I know what you mean. Good night, Ed."

"'Night, Winry."

Ed went back out into the darkened front room. He lay back down on his cushion and pulled his blanket over his head, desperately hoping he would manage to get back to sleep. A whole two years had gone by and his life was still being disrupted by Scar and his issues. Some things never changed.