Edward anxiously tapped his index finger on the top of the phone booth, the murmurs of the phone line occupying his ears. His heart was beating quicker than ever and he felt sick to his stomach. He swallowed several times to drown the knot in his stomach from spewing out of his mouth. Although it seemed like he'd been waiting for ages, Bunny picked up the phone after the third ring, and relief flooded Edward's entire being.

"Yes? Hel-"

"Bunny," Edward interrupted, barely allowing the woman to finish her greeting. "I need you to do something for me. Please."

There was a brief pause before the woman responded. "Sure, Ed. Are you okay? You sound like you've just ran a mile."

"I'm going to be honest with you, I'm everything but okay, but I can't talk to you about it right now. I just bought the earliest train ticket I could get with every last bit of change I had, and Noah lent me a pound to use on this old phone. I'm going towards the hospital now immediately, and I need you to meet me there, and get something done before I get back."

"Sure," She responded. "What is it?"

"Check for my file."

"Your what?!"

"My file," He repeated. "Check if it's still there, and if it is, see if there's anything missing from it."

"Okay, but, you're gonna have to tell me why. I won't know what to look for."

Edward exhaled with a puff, glancing at the large clock above the station. "Okay, look, my trains going to be here in five minutes so I won't have time to explain everything, so please don't ask too many questions yet. I'll tell you everything when I get there."

Bunny speed walked her way down the corridors, sweat greasing her brow. Her heart beat violently in her chest, and she swung open the archives room door, heading straight for the staff files cabinet. Disregarding all letters before 'E', she frantically began skimming through the names, accidentally reaching 'F' twice and having to redo her search in panic that the file may not actually be there. Finally, she found the file entitled 'Elric'. Bunny pulled out the folder, and slammed it onto the desk nearby, flipping it open and checking its contents. There was his resume, several logs filled out for old discharged patients, his degrees, a few reports...

"Where's his personal information's sheet?" Bunny whined out loud, almost sounding desperate. She felt hot tears behind her eyes, and she ran her hands through her hair, clenching her teeth together tightly. Edward's hunch was right. He'd recalled Winry speaking of the time she'd had food poisoning at the hospital. She had told them someone had come into her room, but they'd disregarded it. Why? Why didn't they listen to her? What could anyone possibly want with her? It was evident it was the same person. It had to be! How else would they have figured out where she lived?

"Bunny," came a voice behind her. Bunny jumped in surprise, spinning around to meet Edward's pale and panting face.

"Blimey, Edward, you look terrible." Bunny cried, grabbing hold of his arm as he stumbled into the room. Edward shook her off almost immediately.

"No matter. What did you find? Or not find, for that matter?"

"Your personal information sheet is missing, like you predicted." She mumbled, pointing at the open file sprawled across the desk. Edward rubbed the back of his neck, swearing under his breath.

"Are you sure?!" Edward cried, beginning to rummage through the folder himself. "You could've missed it!"

"I'm sure Edward. I'm guessing the person would've known both you and Winry, and at the same time, would've had access to the archives."

"No kidding." Edward hissed. "And it's also someone who knows about the gate. Not just any idiot would go out of their way to get a hold of Winry."

"But, Edward wouldn't they?" Bunny mumbled. "We can't be too sure yet. Maybe it was a stalker? We can't immediately write it off as someone who knew about your world."

"That's the only lead we have right now, Bunny. And quite frankly, I want to get her back safe and sound as soon as possible. We could start with the asshole who fed her those sleeping pills."

"Yeah... Wait, I know for a fact that Jacob took over my duties once in a while."

Edward jumped, a look of confusion on his face. "You think Jacob did it?"

Bunny narrowed her eyes. "No, you dunce! He might be able to give us a clue about who did dinner duty that week!"

"Well, I'd hope so." Edward replied. "He's the chief."

The two doctors emerged before the main office door. Bunny twisted the key inside the keyhole, opening the door and allowing them inside. The small clock perched on the wall behind the desk neatly pointed at 2:05. It was quite late, and if any of the nightshift doctors caught them, there would be quite the fiasco.

Bunny silently clicked the door shut, flicking on only one of the lights. Edward looked back at her in puzzlement.

"In case anyone sees the lights on," Bunny whispered. Edward nodded, turning back and making his way behind the desk. Realization hit him soon after, and he stepped aside for Bunny.

"I realized that I don't even know what to look for..."

"Don't you have the meal schedules for your patients?"

"Not really. They just go down to the caf after I dismiss them. There was only one boy who was recovering from anorexia and self harm who I had to monitor, and even then, he had his own nutritionist who made sure he ate all the right stuff."

Bunny nodded, understanding, and bent down to begin skimming through Jacob's files. She clicked through the drawers, and eventually made her way to the filing cabinets behind the desk. Bunny bit on her lip intently, shaking her head. Edward watched her whizz around the office, unsure of how he could help in any way. Eventually, after a long while, Bunny threw her arms up in defeat.

"If you need help, I'd be more than able to." Edward said, raising an eyebrow.

"Too late for that! It isn't anywhere!"

"You didn't really search very thoroughly..." Edward mumbled.

"Well, it wasn't in the places it should've been in." Bunny huffed.

"But wait, wouldn't it be in your own files? You know, among the things you're supposed to keep about recently discharged patients?"

Bunny shook her head. "When I went on my break for the week, Jacob took my dinner schedule. After that, I sort of forgot to get it back from him, since I already knew her meal schedule by heart."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "So he's kept it the whole time? You were memorized her routine?"

Bunny nodded with a blush. "She was different from the other patients, Ed..."

Edward frowned, but shook his head, dismissing the subject. "Is there anyone in her old room right now?"

Bunny shrugged. "I'm not too sure. I don't have any patients in the corridor anymore."

"Well it couldn't hurt to check." Edward said, gathering the papers from his document and tapping the bottom of the pile gently on the desk to even them out. "If there's anyone in there, there'll be papers in the drop off mailbox hanging at the back of the door."

"What's the point of that, Ed?" Bunny asked, shaking her head. "Her rooms already cleaned out, what do you hope to find in there?"

"Fuck, Bunny, I don't know!" Edward snapped in an exhausted voice. "I need something, anything, to give me a lead on where the hell Winry is."

They clicked the office door shut on their way out, Edward speed walking down the halls while Bunny followed, clutching the document that Edward had forgotten in her arms. They passed by several doctors, who gave them strange looks. Edward outright ignored them, while Bunny gave them a sheepish smile and a nod of the head. It seemed Edward forgot everything up to manners when he was stressed out.

The two doctors finally reached the old corridor, the second floor on the short-term wing. There were several nightshift doctors and nurses retiring from the patients' rooms after handing them their final doses of medication for the night. They all seemed rather calm, but that was understandable, considering this was the short-term wing. Bunny could vividly remember her short time spent in the long-term wing, how practically all of the other doctors were practically elderly with decades of experience. Regardless, they all seemed more like robots than anything else. Barely ever showing emotion, barely ever speaking. It had scared Bunny and driven her out of that job, regardless of the amazing salary. She'd have very well liked to keep her humanity intact as well.

"It's here, yeah?"

Bunny glanced up at the door number, reading 503, and hummed. There didn't seem to be any papers in the folder hanging on the door, much to their delight. Edward gripped the doorknob and twisted several times, making a rattling sound.

"Its locked."

"No kidding." Bunny rolled her eyes. "I told you, Ed. There's no point in coming here. Even if this is the short term wing, all the doors to the patients' rooms are locked tight, with only their doctors or someone with the master key able to unlock it."

"Did you lend your keys to Jacob too? Isn't it against the rules to give your keys away?"

"Well, yeah, it is. And I didn't."

Edward frowned, but somehow, his expression seemed sourer this time. "Then how did Jacob get into her room during your break week?"

Bunny shrugged, a dull expression on her face. "Well, he is the manager of this place."

Edward straightened his back. "So you're telling me that Jake had Winry's meal schedule, along with a key to her room and constant access?"

Bunny narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Elric, if you're saying what I think you're saying, then stop."

"Bunny-"

"It wasn't him," Bunny interrupted immediately. "It wasn't. Jacob isn't like that. He wouldn't."

"How can you be sure?" Edward demanded in a harsh tone.

"You have to stop jumping to conclusions, Ed!" Bunny hissed quietly. "We barely have any evidence! You're just assuming!"

Edward growled, glancing around the hallway. Bunny followed his gaze, sighing quietly. "Listen, Edward. It's really late, and the patients are going to want to sleep. Especially those insomniacs. Let's go for now. Tomorrow, we can start looking around again. I'll finish up my rounds quickly, and then-"

"No," Edward responded quickly. "I have to make sure Willis is still here. Tomorrow, check his office. If you can't find him, we'll know its him."

"Edward..." Bunny began. Edward shot her a stern look. "We don't know anything for sure, Ed. We'll keep an eye out, but... Please, don't be so suspicious of Jake. He's really a great man."

Edward looked away from her. "Hate looks like everybody else until it smiles."

Alphonse cracked his eyelids open. His chest felt heavy, and his palms were sweaty. Outstretching his fingers, he felt something roll out of his grip and onto the floor. Finally mustering up the energy, he turned his head to take a glimpse of his surroundings. The room was dark, and there were several young men, around his age, passed out on sofas and carpets, each with their arm around a girl who was cuddled up right next to them. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, wriggling himself free of a young woman's grasp, and staggering towards the front door. He chuckled quietly at himself, shaking his head slowly while clicking the door shut. His body ached, and his lips twitched in anticipation. He walked with a slight limp, his back arched forward in an unappealing manner. He'd really gone and done it this time. Alphonse was one who was able to hold his alcohol, but after his final exam, he'd felt a wave of melancholy sweeping over him in such a sense that he wanted to disappear from reality for a while. Maybe it was the fact that his brother had extended his stay with Noah and Kain for some odd reason, and Alphonse would be going home to nobody once again. His whole life was coloured gray, and it felt absolutely tiring. If depression was a world, Alphonse would be the sky.

It brought back memories of when they had lost their mother. Back then, they had been too young and too naive to realize there was such thing as giving up. They'd trained and fought, only to make a mistake that would almost cost them their lives. Then, they'd spent another several years in training, fighting to regain what they'd lost. And that had only resulted in them losing something more.

Alphonse felt his vision blurring. His hand slammed hard against the metal of a streetlamp, barely helping him hold himself up. He shook his head, panting for air. His stomach twisted and he lurched forward, vomiting out pure water and alcohol. His throat burnt and his head pounded. Alphonse fell to his knees, gently gasping for air. Suddenly, he wanted his brother. He wanted his brother to reassure him that everything would be alright, and that they'd win this fight, just as he had before. Alphonse rubbed his face, his fingers slick with excess grease from the corners of his eyes. He thought about what Edward would say to him at that moment. 'Get up, you idiot. You look pathetic.'

And then, he'd proceed to throw Alphonse onto his back, carrying him home and all the while mumbling curses and swears as to what a great inconvenience his brother was to him. But even then, Alphonse would know he didn't mind.

A.N: *SWEATS NERVOUSLY* ...uh...Sorry? .

In all seriousness, I'm really sorry this took so long, everyone. I honestly just needed a break from writing for a while. I had a lot on my mind, plus the French immersion program really took a lot out of me... I REALLY HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME OMG.

But the hiatus is over now, and I will get back on track with the chapters. I suppose I was also a little discouraged, due to lack of reviews from the past few chapters. Things will begin picking up quickly from here, so I do hope you'll enjoy it. We're almost at 100 reviews! :D Thanks again for sticking around, and thanks for all the, uh, angry emails . welp. you guys are scary.