Disclaimer- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. just playing around with them a little

Chapter Two - Thoughts of the Past

Gracia walked with Havoc to the door and waved as he walked out to his car. Then, closing the door behind herself, she decided to go and check on Elicia and Nick. She walked upstairs and, once she reached the top of the stairs, Gracia paused and listened. She heard the sounds of Nick and Elicia talking and it was coming from the upstairs study. She walked down the hall and opened the door.

Nick sat on the floor of the study, papers strewn out in front of him. He was practicing drawing various types of transmutation circles while Elicia watched from a spot on the sofa. A cup of tea sat untouched on the coffee table.

"How are things going kids?" Gracia asked as she entered the room.

"Fine," Elicia said.

Nick nodded but said nothing. He continued furiously drawing various transmutation circles on the pieces of paper scattered on the floor in front of him.

"Well I'll leave you to it," Gracia said with a smile. "I just came up to make sure you guys were okay. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks." Nick paused his work long enough to look up at the woman and give her a grateful smile.

Gracia nodded, the soft smile still on her lips. "Don't work too hard." With that, she turned and left the study, closing the door behind herself.

When Gracia left the room Nick immediately returned to his studies. He stared at the various transmutation circles that he'd drawn, studying the minute details of each. As he worked, he thought back to the only other time in his life that he'd ever worked this hard.

The first few years of his alchemical training had been easy enough however when he'd started studying the more serious and complex aspects of the science things had gotten much harder.

(Nick had first developed an interest in alchemy at the age of four but it wasn't until he was eight that he really became seriously involved in the science. The boy was extremely bright and he taught himself the basics of alchemy at the age of four, by using books he'd found in his dad's study. Then, when Ed discovered that his son had an interest in alchemy, he began to train the boy. From age four until age eight, his father had taught him about alchemy however not long after he turned eight Nick decided that he wanted to study serious alchemy with a real teacher.

He and his father were practicing alchemy one day when Nick made his desires known. He'd been debating how to bring up the subject for a couple of weeks and that day had just seemed like the right time. "Dad, you've done a great job of teaching me alchemy but I'd really like to study serious alchemy under a real teacher."

"A real teacher huh?" Ed said, gazing over at his son with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I know just the person."

"You do?"

Ed nodded. "Pack your things and tomorrow you and I will take a trip."

Nick nodded, excited about the prospect. He'd been prepared to have an all out argument with his dad over his desires for serious training and yet Ed had seemed to be all for it. The young boy couldn't believe his luck.

That evening Ed walked the short distance over to the home of Winry's grandmother, Pinako Rockbell. When he arrived at her home, he knocked lightly on the door and then stepped back.

Moments later the door opened and Pinako smiled up at him. "Why hello Edward. This is a pleasant surprise. Come in."

Pinako stepped aside and Ed walked through the door. Pinako closed the door behind him and the two of them walked into the living room. Pinako sat down on the sofa and motioned for Ed to sit down beside her, which he did.

"So tell me Ed," Pinako said. "What's on your mind?" She knew that there had to be something specific that he wanted to speak with her about since he hadn't brought along Winry or the kids.

"Nicholas has decided that he wants to study serious alchemy," Ed told her.

"I see," Pinako said, nodding her head. There was no sign of surprise in her voice. She had known that it was only a matter of time before this topic came up and had actually been waiting for it for a couple of years now. After all the boy was Edward's son, not to mention Hohenheim's grandson.

"So I've decided to take him to Dublith to meet my old teacher. She may be willing to take him on as an apprentice, I can't really be sure. I haven't seen her in several years although Al's kept in touch."

"Does Winry know about this?"

Ed nodded. "Yea. I told her about it at dinner and she seems okay with the idea. She's by no means thrilled about it but she didn't out and out forbid it which is an encouraging sign. Which brings us to my reason for being here. I'll most likely be gone for a few weeks at least and I was wondering whether you'd mind coming to stay with Winry while I'm gone. I don't like the thoughts of her being alone with the twins since they're so young and quite the hand full. She'll probably need help."

"Of course I'll come and stay with them," Pinako said at once. She loved spending time with her granddaughter and her great grandchildren and would never pass up an excuse to do so.

Ed smiled. "Thanks Grans, you're the best."

"I know," Pinako said, giving the young man a warm smile. She'd heard that compliment many times before. "I'll come over early tomorrow morning and Winry, the girls and I can walk you and Nicholas to the station."

And so, the next morning, Ed and Nick left Resembool and boarded a train bound for an equally small town by the name of Dublith. Winry didn't exactly agree with the decision but went along with it because it was what Nick wanted and she knew that since he was Ed's son he wouldn't just let the matter drop if she said no. So she, the twins and Pinako accompanied Ed and Nick to the train station and saw them off on their journey.

Before boarding the train, Ed gave each of his twin girls a kiss on the cheek. "Bye sweeties. Daddy loves you both."

Then he gave Winry a hug and a kiss. "I love you honey. Take care of the girls and I'll see you soon."

And with that, Ed and Nick boarded the train. They walked down the isle of the passenger car and sat down in a vacant seat in the back. Ed lowered the window as his family came to stand beside their car.

"You boys be careful," Winry had called out from the platform as Ed and Nick looked out the window of one of the train's passenger cars.

"We'll be fine Winry," Ed assured her. "I'll see you in a week or two and with any luck Nick won't see you for at least a couple of months."

Winry nodded, tears appearing in her blue eyes and threatening to fall. "Good bye. I love you both."

"I love you too," Ed called out.

The sound of the train's whistle alerted the group to the fact that the train would soon depart from the station at Resembool.

"Bye Mom." Nick leaned out the window and waved to his mother. "I'll see you later."

"Bye Nicholas," Winry said, attempting to hold back the tears that glistened in her eyes. "Take care of yourself and come back soon."

Nick waved to his mother and then sat down across from his father. He gazed down at his hands, which he held clasped in his lap. His thoughts wandered back to his mom.

She had told him to come back soon but, as much as he cared for her, in all honesty he didn't want to come back soon. He wanted to learn serious alchemy and he hoped that this teacher that his dad knew could help him with that desire.")

"Had I only known what Dad had in store for me," Nick thought to himself as he studied his drawings of transmutation circles. "But I was clueless."

(After spending several hours on a train, Ed and Nick arrived in the small town of Dublith.

"Come on kid." Ed stood up and grabbed his suitcase. "This is our stop."

"This little dinky village?" Nick asked in surprise, jumping up to grab his own suitcase from the storage space overhead. "Are you sure about this dad? I don't see how this village can possibly be home to someone good enough at alchemy to take me to the next level."

"Wait and see," Ed said.

Father and son left the train and Ed proceeded to lead the way down the street. Ed led his son across town to a small meat shop, positioned on a corner street.

Ed opened the door and the jingling of a bell announced their arrival as they stepped into the shop. A woman of slightly above average height stood at the counter and as Ed and Nick approached her, a large, muscular man emerged from a back room and came to stand behind her.

For some reason Nick couldn't figure out, the woman seemed surprised by the sight of them. "That's odd," Nick thought, noticing the fact that the woman seemed to be staring at his dad with an intense look in her eyes. "And speaking of odd, I wonder why dad brought me to a meat shop. He told me that he was taking me to see a great alchemist."

"Hello," Ed said, coming to a stop in front of the counter. Nick came to a stop a few feet behind his dad.

"Hello Edward," the woman said. "To what do we owe this honor?"

Ed grabbed his son by the arm and pulled him forward. "I'd like for you to meet my son Nicholas. He wants to study serious alchemy and apparently I wasn't a good enough teacher for him."

The woman came out from behind the counter and stared down at the boy, who stared defiantly back up at her.

"So," the woman said as she gazed into the young boy's defiant golden eyes. "Why do you want to learn alchemy?"

A thoughtful expression appeared on the young boy's face. He'd never really given much thought to why he wanted to learn alchemy. It was just something to occupy his time and he was good at it.

"I want to make a difference in the world," Nick finally replied. "And since alchemy is the only talent I possess I want to become good at it so that I can help people."

The woman nodded, satisfied with the boy's reply. She turned back to Ed. "You and your son should come to the house for dinner tonight. We'll discuss this further then."

Ed nodded.

And so Ed and Nick left the small shop and spent the next few hours roaming around the small town of Dublith, not that there was all that much to see. In fact it actually reminded Nick of his own home town of Resembool. During this time, Nick thought about the woman that he'd just met.

"So dad," Nick said after awhile. "Who exactly was that woman?"

"Her name is Izumi Curtis," Ed told his son. "And she's the one who taught alchemy to me and my brother when we were children."

"Are you serious?"

Ed nodded. "We studied under her for several months and if you're lucky she'll agree to take you as a student. But I warn you now, she's a tough teacher and should she accept you as her student your training will not be easy. I hope you're ready."

"I am," Nick said, his voice filled with confidence.

"For your sake I hope so," Ed said.

Ed and Nick roamed around Dublith for a couple of hours and then Ed led the way to Izumi's house. Once there he knocked lightly on the door. Then he and Nick stepped back and waited for someone to answer the door.

Moments later the door opened and a strange man waved for them to enter the house.

"Hey Mason," Ed said as he and Nick entered the house.

"Hey Edward," the man named Mason said. "It's great to see you again." Then his gaze shifted to Nick. "And who is your young companion?"

"This is my son Nicholas," Ed said. "Nick this is Mason."

"Hi." Nick gave the strange man a tentative smile.

Mason smiled widely at the young boy. "Izumi told me that she was expecting guests but I didn't know who. This is such a pleasant surprise."

Mason led the way into a small living room where Izumi and her husband sat on a couch. Ed bowed as he entered the room and Nick quickly followed suit.

Izumi motioned for the pair to sit and Ed and Nick took seats on a couple of armchairs, positioned to one side of the couch.

"Edward," Izumi said. "After much thought I have decided that I will teach your son alchemy if he can pass the same test that you had to endure. But since he isn't an orphan like you were when I tested you I feel the need to ask your permission. So, those are the conditions. Do you except them?"

"I do," Ed said, knowing that Izumi wouldn't allow any harm to come to his son.

Izumi nodded and then turned her attention to Nick. "Nicholas, before I accept you as my apprentice you must pass a test. If you fail the test then you go back home to Resembool. However, if you pass the test then I'll teach you serious alchemy. Do you accept those conditions?"

"Yes," Nick said without hesitation.

"Alright then," Izumi said. "We will depart for the island tomorrow. Now that that's settled, we'll have dinner and then you should get some rest. You'll need it. Ed, you and your son can use the room that belonged to you and Al while you trained here."

Ed nodded.

After dinner, Ed and Nick climbed the stairs and entered a room at the end of a long hallway. The room contained two beds, both of which had pillows and blankets. Ed placed his bags down in front of one of the beds, claiming it as his and Nick placed his things beside the other bed.

Nick sat down on the bed. "So dad, exactly what kind of test do I have to pass in order to become her apprentice?"

"You'll find out tomorrow," Ed said. "It wouldn't be right of me to tell you ahead of time and Sensei would be angry."

Nick stared at his dad, one eyebrow upraised. "Are you scared of her Dad?"

"A little," Ed replied honestly. "But I also love her very much. She was like a second mother to Al and me when we trained under her. She's a very good person Nick and if you pass her test, she'll help you take your alchemy to the next level."

Nick's eyes lit up immediately. "Really? That's awesome. I can pass the test, I know I can."

Ed smiled at his son's enthusiasm. "Yes, I'm sure you can. But for now you should probably get some rest. Sensei was correct. You will need it."

Nick nodded. He pulled off his black outer shirt and his shoes and then crawled underneath the covers. The boy was exhausted after having spent several hours on a train and he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning Nick awoke early and found that he was alone in the room that he'd shared with his father. The boy quickly pulled on his shirt and shoes and then went downstairs.

He located his dad in the kitchen with Izumi and her husband. The three adults were sitting around the table, having breakfast.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Nick asked his dad.

"I thought you could use the rest," Ed replied. "But now that you're awake would you like some breakfast?"

Nick shook his head. His stomach was already full of butterflies and didn't really have any room for food. "No thanks. I'm not really hungry."

Izumi gave the boy a stern look. "Eat Nicholas. You'll need strength for the task to come."

"Yes ma'am," Nick said, sensing that it would be unwise to argue with her.

Nick sat down and began to eat. Izumi's orders hadn't made his appetite return but he forced himself to eat so as not to anger her. He hadn't known his father's old teacher for very long but he already got the feeling that she wasn't someone with whom you messed around with. The fact that his father was somewhat afraid of her put a healthy dose of fear in the boy. Anyone who could scare his dad definitely deserved respect.)

"And that was the beginning of a hell that defies description," Nick thought to himself, refusing to reminisce about the training that had almost killed him. Training, that word simply did not do it justice. No torture was a much more appropriate word to describe what he had endured.

A/N- hope you enjoyed chapter two and before you say anything, yes I do realized that Izumi died at the end of the anime. I chose not to acknowledge this fact so my fic is written as though it never happened. She's not the only one either but you'll find out more about that later. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.